


A Small Misunderstanding

by stormcloudsonthehorizon



Series: A Small Misunderstanding [1]
Category: Actor RPF, British Actor RPF, Tom Hiddleston - Fandom
Genre: Accidental Pregnancy, Annoyed Tom, Enemies to Lovers, Falling In Love, Feisty heroine, Fluff and Angst, Kissing, Original Character(s), Protective Tom Hiddleston, Pushy relatives, Romance, Sex, Spanking, Tom Is A Sweetheart, dominant Tom, eventually
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-09-08
Updated: 2018-01-24
Packaged: 2018-12-25 04:06:28
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 15
Words: 42,803
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12027759
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/stormcloudsonthehorizon/pseuds/stormcloudsonthehorizon
Summary: Tedi is new in London and has become good friends with Amanda, Ben, and Martin.  That means she's also spending time with Tom Hiddleston.It's not going well.He's nasty, rude, and condescending.  It feels like he hates her but she has no idea why.  When they get off on the wrong foot, they may be destined to be enemies forever.  Or are they?  Has it all just been...a small misunderstanding?





	1. This is the worst jackpot ever

**Author's Note:**

> I've taken several liberties with the timeline of Tom's work events in this story so please be aware. Thanks for reading!

So far so good.  Tedi had been invited to movie and pizza night at Amanda and Martin’s home and the evening was going well.  Nervous about meeting so many new people at one time, she’d given herself a long lecture before arriving.  Smile.  Be sociable.  Ask good questions.  Don’t drone on and on about writing and books.  

Of course she was comfortable with Amanda already.  They’d met at the gym several weeks ago and hit it off right away.  She’d met Martin a few times as well and he was as funny and sweet as he seemed on television.  Tonight she’d met Benedict who was kind and smart.  They’d discussed the sight-seeing she’d done since coming to London two months ago and he’d recommended a few places off the beaten path.  His girlfriend Isla was friendly and nice, asking lots of questions about America.  

The problem was Tom.  He’d spent most of the evening scowling at her, but she had no idea why.  

Tedi had the strangest feeling he didn’t like her very much even though he barely knew her.  They’d only exchanged a few pleasantries when they’d been introduced in the beginning of the evening.  He’d seemed stiff and brittle, hardly acknowledging her presence when she’d told him that she enjoyed his work.  He’d simply nodded as if it was a foregone conclusion.  

The pizza had been consumed and the first movie watched.  They were all taking a break lounging around the living room, and Martin had asked Ben about a book adaptation he was going to star in.  That had started a discussion about books in general, a topic that Mr. Hiddleston had some strong opinions about.

“It’s just sad that more people don’t read the classics,” Tom said.  “They’re missing out on great literature and their lives are lesser for it.”

Ted had strong opinions about this subject as well and she simply couldn’t be silent.  “It’s sad that more people don’t read.  Period.  It doesn’t matter what they read.  Classics.  Thrillers.  Mysteries.  Plays.  Heck, the back of cereal boxes.  I just want people to read and discover the worlds that it takes them to.  The number of people that never read a book after high school is downright depressing.”

Tom shook his head.  “It does matter what they read.  They shouldn’t waste their time on rubbish.  If they’re going to read they need to immerse themselves in the great works of centuries past.  Shakespeare.  Dickens.  Austen.  Bronte.  Only then can their eyes truly be opened to the masterpieces of great writers.”

“I disagree,” Tedi replied just as strongly.  “The problem is that we force books on people who are too young to appreciate them.  I read The Great Gatsby in high school and it was good.  But when I read it as an adult with that frame of reference, it was only then that I understood Fitzgerald’s genius.  We need to nurture the love of reading in our youth and let nature take its course.  If we fire up their love of books, they’ll naturally travel to the great writers.”

“Naturally?” Tom scoffed in his posh accent.  “You think we should encourage children and teenagers to read inferior works?”

Everyone in the room had pretty much shut up and let Tom and Tedi hash this out.  

“If someone loves it, how is it inferior?  There are a lot of books that I think are trash but who am I to tell someone what they should like?  One of the reasons people don’t read is that they believe - and rightly so from this conversation - that they are looked down on for their choices.  We need to encourage them to read no matter what they prefer.”

“Like romance novels?” Tom sneered.  “Those stories are all the same.  Anyone with half a brain could write one.”

There was an audible intake of breath from Amanda whose eyes had gone wide.  Tedi could have heard a pin drop in the room it was so quiet.  Tom knew perfectly well what Tedi did for a living so now he was just being a rude asshole.  They were all waiting for her to explode.  They’d be waiting awhile.  She’d heard all of this before from others although it she had to admit it hurt coming from Tom.  As a lover of words, she hadn’t expected him to be so…pompous and arrogant.  Superior.  Deliberately cruel.

“If it was such an easy task, you’d think everyone would have written one,” Tedi pointed out quietly.  “In fact, why don’t you try it?  Love is the most universal emotion so it should be simple to do.  Personally I’m not trying to write the great America novel.  I’m just trying to entertain people which I think is pretty important work.  If someone can read one of my books and forget their crappy day at work or their fight with their boyfriend then I think I’ve done my job.  It may not be the lofty goal of visionaries but I’m satisfied with it.”

Tom seemed to think about her words before answering.  “Perhaps someday you’ll write a real book.”

Ouch.  Son of a gun knew were to poke the knife.

“I think I already have because I get real money in my bank account.  I spend it at real stores and pay real bills but I could be imagining the whole thing I suppose.  Maybe you’re not even real.  You could be a figment of my over active imagination.”  Tedi leaned forward from her comfortable spot on the loveseat to where Tom was lounging against the couch and poked him in the bicep with her finger.  “You feel real but how can I trust my own senses?  What with only half a brain and all.”

He was not amused and he opened his mouth to tell her off but Ben clapped his hand on Tom’s shoulder, effectively silencing his friend.  Tedi might be the new girl in this group but it looked like Tom had pissed off his friends with his free wheeling commentary tonight.  She couldn’t help but wonder if he was like this all the time. 

Tom was known to be so polite.  A real English gentleman but he’d hardly acted the part this evening.  Maybe he was having a bad day?  

Amanda sprung up from her seat on the couch, seemingly determined to keep them from punching each other or more.  “I think it’s time for another movie.  Everyone get your snack and a comfortable spot.”

Deciding she desperately needed a drink after that tense exchange, Tedi headed into the kitchen and poured herself another margarita from the pitcher.  Instead of going back into the living room, she stayed where she was and sipped her drink, enjoying the quiet.

And being away from Tom.  The tension was much less when she was in a room that he didn’t inhabit.

Amanda strode into the kitchen and buried her face in her hands, groaning.  “I am so sorry about that.  I don’t know what’s got into him.  He’s normally the sweetest, nicest man on the planet.  It’s like his body has been taken over by a pod person.  This is not who he is.”

Shrugging, Tedi took another gulp of her drink.  “Or this is who he really is and he’s been hiding it until now.  Either one is a possibility.”

Amanda shook her head.  “I swear he’s a good person.  He’d do anything for his friends.”

“Of which I am not one of.”

Slumping down into a chair, Amanda poured herself a drink.  “Okay, he can be…pretentious at times.  I’ll admit that, but just plain nasty and mean?  No, that’s not Tom.  He’s a gentle soul.”

“Who just insulted not only my profession but my intelligence.  Really, he tried to negate my very existence on this earth.”  Amanda looked like she wanted to argue but Tedi shook her head.  “Listen, it doesn’t matter.  I doubt I’ll see him very much anyway and if I do I’ll just give him a wide berth.  I’m not looking for a fight here.  Frankly I’d just as soon avoid him as much as possible.”

Amanda sighed.  “I was so hoping you two would hit it off.”

“Why?”

“You know.”  She waggled her eyebrows.  “I was hoping you’d…like each other.  Be attracted.  It would be perfect.  You fit right into our little group and Tom needs a nice girlfriend.  Not the bitches he usually brings around.  And you could use a nice boyfriend too.  A real romantic who would sweep you off your feet.”

Tom wasn’t about to do any sweeping, and Tedi was at the point in her life where she didn’t think she could be swept any more.  Cynical and world weary, she’d been taken in by love too many times.  It was one thing to write about true love and happily ever after but she was certain it had passed her over.  Some people were just destined to be alone and she was one of them.  It was sad but she’d accepted it.  She’d keep creating wonderful heroes for her make believe heroines while everyone else in the world found their soulmate.  

If her soulmate was actually out there somewhere, he was drunk and lost, afraid to ask for directions.  

 

***

 

Ben pulled Tom into Martin’s study and shut the door behind them.  

“What in the hell was that out there?  You were rude and awful to that poor woman.  She’s certainly done nothing to deserve that sort of treatment.  She seems quite nice.”

Tom was well aware of how he’d acted and he didn’t need Ben to remind him.  

“I had my reasons.  Besides, she might be nice but she didn’t back down, did she?”

Ben let out a pained groan.  “You insulted her, Tom, and she had every right to defend herself.  Now tell me why.  What did she do?  What are these…reasons?”

“I overheard Amanda speaking to Martin about how she’s trying to fix me and Tedi up with each other.  I’m tired of being set up on blind dates that turn out to be disastrous.  Everybody needs to stay the hell out of my love life.”

“That’s all well and good, mate, but what does that have to do with Tedi?  This isn’t her fault.”

Tom snorted derisively.  “Right.  She knew nothing about it.  Fuck, you know how women talk amongst themselves.  She knew and she came here thinking she was going to get set up with me.  She thought she’d hit the jackpot.  A rather plain woman getting set up with a rich movie star.  So I simply showed her a side of me that she might not like.  Teach her to try and manipulate me.  These American women think they can walk all over a chap.  So I took a stand tonight.”

Ben gave him a shrewd look.  “I think this has less to do with Tedi and more to do with your last girlfriend.  I know she hurt you pretty badly but just because she was American and Tedi is an American doesn’t mean they have anything in common.  She’s not guilty by association, mate, and I also don’t think she’s plain.  You owe her an apology.”

“I’ll apologize when she admits what she was trying to do tonight.”

 

***

 

Tedi paused in the hallway looking for the door to the bathroom but the deep, masculine voices at the end of the hall captured her attention instead.  Voices she recognized easily as she’d heard them in movies over the last several years.  Tom and Ben were arguing.  She heard her own name and found herself moving closer to hear better.  It sounded like Ben was defending her.  How sweet.  He really was a nice man.  

“…She thought she’d hit the jackpot.  A rather plain woman getting set up with a rich movie star…”

Sucking in a painful breath, Tedi felt heat rush into her cheeks.  This entire situation was mortifying.  He thought her career was a joke and that she was unattractive too.  If she never saw or talked to Tom Hiddleston again it would be too soon.  What an asshole.  She might not be a great beauty but she wasn’t the type of person to judge others based on their appearance.  She might be ugly but at least it was only on the outside.  He had a lovely candy coating but the inside was rotten to the core.

Time to get the hell out of here and forget this entire night ever happened.  She’d never watch another movie that man was in, ever.  

 


	2. Where's David Tennant when you need him?

For the next month, Tedi only saw Tom once when the group went to see a play in the West End.  They sat several seats away from one another although she didn’t see him crack a smile the entire night.  Mostly he glowered.  And when he wasn’t doing that he sulked.  Apparently he hadn’t known she was going to show up.

Tedi was getting tired of his toddler games.  If he wanted to throw a tantrum, she wanted no part of it.  They’d stay away from each other.  Frankly she was still hurt and angry about what she’d overheard at Amanda’s house that first night.  He certainly thought a lot of himself if he thought he was some sort of _jackpot_ for her.  

“Here’s your coffee.  I’ll wait over there if you need anything.”

Gavin was her new personal assistant and so far he was worth his weight in gold.  He always made sure she had her caffeine fix and kept her on schedule no matter where they were or what needed to be done.  Today she was filming a short public service announcement for the BBC regarding literacy.  She and and David Tennant would be in front of the camera telling everyone how cool and sexy reading was.  

She’d been fitted for a little black dress that was short and tight and it would be paired with a pair of sexy red high heels.  They’d brought in a hairdresser and makeup artist to make her look as glamorous as possible.  

Thank God she only had one line.  _“Reading is so sexy.”_

According to her script, she was supposed to look deeply into David Tennant’s eyes and run her fingers over his jaw while perched on the arm of his wing backed chair.  She was no actress but she could pull this off.  It was for a great cause - pushing literacy - which was why she’d agreed to do it in the first place.

Almost choking on her vanilla soy latte, Tedi’s eyes widened when she saw Tom talking to a man with a clipboard at the other end of the soundstage.  What in the hell was he doing here?  She hadn’t had near enough caffeine yet to deal with him.  

She grabbed Gavin by the arm as she ducked behind a camera.  “Find out why Tom Hiddleston is here.  But don’t be obvious about it.”

Gavin hadn’t worked for Tedi for long and it was most certainly the strangest request she’d made of him so far but he didn’t even question it.  He turned on his heel and marched over to someone who looked like they were in charge.  Or at the very least might know what was going on.  Maybe she was in the wrong place.

When Gavin returned he was wearing a wary smile.  “The schedule changed and David Tennant was moved to another day with another author.  You’re doing this with Tom Hiddleston.”

_You know that feeling you get when you’re leaning back in a chair on its two back legs and you lean a little too far and almost fall backwards but you catch yourself at the last minute?  Then your heart is racing and you can barely catch your breath because you almost died a really stupid death?  That’s how I feel right now._

“No, I can’t do this,” Tedi hissed between gritted teeth.  “When did this happen?”

The man with the clipboard approached Tedi.  “Miss Oliver?  I’m Nigel Courtwright, and I’ll be your director today.  If we could just get you into wardrobe and makeup, please?”

She shook hands with him but she wasn’t going quietly.  “It’s very nice to meet you.  Um, I thought I was doing this with David Tennant…”

Nigel checked his clipboard and then smiled.  “David had a change in schedule and Tom very generously was able to move his own schedule around so we didn’t have to cancel.  Didn’t you get our message about that?”

No, she hadn’t and she wished she had.  She might have come down with a twenty-four hour stomach virus.  

“I don’t think I did, Nigel, but I am a little concerned.  David and I already talked through this and rehearsed a little.”

“No problem,” Nigel said reassuringly.  Little did he know.  “We have time in the schedule for you and Tom to run through this.  It’s going to be a great shoot, don’t worry.  Tom’s a pro at this. Just follow his lead.”

There was no way Tedi was going to do that.  Not in this lifetime.

 

****

 

When Tom had agreed to move up his shoot to today he’d had no idea that his partner was going to be Tedi Oliver.  It sounded petty but if he had known he wouldn’t have said yes.  He didn’t want to be anywhere in the same vicinity as that woman.  They simply rubbed each other the wrong way.  Wherever she was going to be, he was going to try to avoid.  

Sadly that wouldn’t be possible today but he was a professional and as such he’d dealt with all kinds of people.  

Nigel beckoned both of them onto the set.  “Now let’s just quickly run through it.  It’s just a fifteen second commercial so we can go through it as many times as you need before we shoot some takes.  Tedi, are you ready?”

The female in question spread her arms wide and smiled at the director.  She was pretty when she smiled.  She had dimples in her cheeks.  “I think this is as good as I’m going to get so we might as well do it.”

Perhaps his initial assessment of her looks was a trifle off.  Tedi Oliver looked quite fetching in the short black dress they’d put her in, showing off a fair amount of bare thigh.  The skin was smooth and golden as if kissed by the sun.  Tom had a sudden urge to see if she was the same color all over.  

_Focus, man.  You’ve just been too long between women._

Her long chocolate colored tresses had been coaxed into an up-do with silky wisps of hair escaping to caress her pink cheeks and graceful neck.  His fingers itched to reach out and rub those strands between his fingers to see if they were as soft as they looked.  

_Bloody hell.  It’s just a woman.  A woman you don’t even like.  You need to go out and get laid tonight._

_But not with her.  Anyone but her._

“Tom, you have a seat in the chair and Tedi, can you sit on the arm, facing him?” 

Nigel fussed as they both sat down.  As if Tom was a poisonous snake, Tedi kept her body angled away and stiff.  That was fucking fine with him.  This was a public service announcement not a seduction.  

Nigel scowled.  “Tedi, can you lean closer to Tom?”

Reluctantly, Tom’s nemesis moved a bit closer and he caught a whiff of her perfume.  Jesus, she smelled like vanilla and rain.  

_I cannot catch a break today.  Why couldn’t she smell like sweat?_

Except that thought had him thinking about the two of them rolling around naked in a set of pristine white linen sheets, her flesh damp from their…exertions.

_Stop.  Just stop._

Exhaling slowly, he tried not to visibly react as Tedi leaned even closer at Nigel’s urging, her arm sliding behind his head.  Because Tom was so tall, he was eye level with her cleavage, rising and falling with each breath.  Those two perfect mounds of delicious flesh were pushed up by the bodice of her dress, practically begging him to worship at their altar.  Not too big and not too small.  They’d fit the palms of his hands as if made just for him.  He’d bet his Jaguar that the nipples would be petal pink just like her lush lips.  

_I’ve lost my bloody mind._

“Now Tedi, reach out and run a finger across Tom’s jaw as you stare lovingly into his eyes.”

Those whiskey-colored eyes were gazing into his own but there was no love there.  Speculation.  Doubt.  Scorn.  Maybe even some regret but no love.  Did she regret letting Amanda set them up or did she regret even showing up today?  Perhaps both.

He might have been prepared for her to look into his eyes but nothing had prepared him for her touch.  Those small soft fingers brushing against the scruff of his jaw, the nails scraping the skin slightly leaving a trail of heat in their wake.  His trousers had become tight and uncomfortable and he found himself lost in the moment, wanting it to never end.  Practically shaking, a strangle sound came from his throat but luckily was covered up as she purred into his ear, her breath warm on his skin.

“Reading is so sexy.”

_Yes, it is and so are you._

“Perfect,” Nigel exclaimed, a huge grin on his face.  “That’s absolutely what we’re looking for here.  Let’s try a take.”

But first, Tom needed to douse himself in a deluge of icy cold water.  This was not supposed to happen today.  

This was not supposed to happen with her.  Not Tedi.  

She was the last woman he wanted to want.  Yet she was the first woman he’d wanted this much in…a long time.  Too long really.  He’d been playing the game with females but few - if any - had ever set him ablaze with such little effort.  

Tedi wasn’t even trying.  God help him if she ever did because he’d be royally screwed and at her mercy.  

Would they notice if he ducked out of the soundstage and didn’t come back?


	3. A ride home and a german shepherd

Tom’s eyes were a fascinating shade of blue and Tedi couldn’t seem to drag her gaze away from them.  It was as if she’d fallen off a cliff into the depths of his mind, swirling with an emotion she didn’t recognize.  For once they weren’t hard and flinty but what she there today made her anxious, edgy.  So used to his scorn she didn’t know what to do with any other vibe from him.  

Her fingertips didn’t want to give up caressing his bristled jaw or the ginger goatee on his chin but the director yelled “cut” and she had no choice.  Like an interrogator performing an excruciatingly painful torture, he had them perform this charade over and over again until Tedi wanted to scream out loud with frustration.  Tom was an asshole of massive proportions but the outer shell was so pretty she couldn’t help admiring it.  

It simply wasn’t fair.  People who were ugly on the inside should have to be the same on the outside.  This is what got her in trouble the last time.  She’d believed when she should have run away.  

It was with immense relief that she packed her things at the end of the day and changed back into her own clothes.  Glamorous Tedi was fine but Ordinary Tedi was preferable.  She’d learned the hard way that she couldn’t contort herself into something she wasn’t.  Certainly not for anyone else.  Not for a man.

Gavin handed her a bottle of water.  “The production company only ordered one car since you and Tom live so close together.”

They did?  That was news to her.  She couldn’t walk home because it was way too far but she could take a taxi or ride the Tube.  He could have the car.  He was the big star after all.  

“I’ll just grab a cab—“

“Don’t be ridiculous.  We’ll ride together.”

That accent.  It was going to be the death of her.  How could someone sound so lovely yet be so nasty all at the same time?

Gavin looked like he wanted to bolt the room and Tedi patted him on the arm before turning to the man that was quickly becoming a gigantic pain in the ass.  

“It’s fine, Tom.  You can take the car.  I’ll get a cab.”

Rolling his eyes, he twisted open his own bottle of water and chugged down half of it.  Tedi watched him, entranced by the motion of his throat, the cords on his neck sticking out and making her want to trace them with her fingers.  

Christ on a crutch.  She needed to get a grip.  Sure, it had been a long time since she’d been with a man but that didn’t mean she had to fall for the first pretty one put in her path.  She knew better.

“Don’t insult the production company by refusing their kind gesture,” he replied crisply, looking down at her.  “Just accept the ride and don’t be a diva.  Don’t worry, I’ll keep to my side of the seat.”

Diva?  He was the fucking diva.

“Me too,” she said primly trailing after him, Gavin on her heels.  

When they reached the sidewalk she thanked her assistant for his help and watched as he eagerly bounded back to his own life.  He had to be glad to get out of the pressure cooker of tension between her and Tom.  Sliding into the back seat she scooted all the way over to make room for him.  Much to her relief, he immediately pulled out his phone and began tapping away at it.  Good.  They didn’t have to talk.

Almost.  As they turned on her street, Tom tucked his phone away.  “Amanda’s birthday is next week and Martin is throwing her a party.  Am I to assume you will be there?”

Was he going to propose that they stake out parts of London?  Draw a line down the center of the city and she had to stay on one side of it?  What a big baby.

“Martin mentioned it and yes, I was planning to be there.  And yourself?”

Not that she cared one way or the other.

“I am.  I hope we can be civil to one another that evening.  I’ll keep my distance and I ask that you do the same.”

Why the fuck wouldn’t she?  Did he think she wanted to be all up in his business?

“I can be civil,” she said through gritted teeth.  At this rate she was going to chip a tooth.  “And believe me I will keep my distance.  Lots of it.  Fear not.”

“I hope I can trust you on that.”

Red.  She was seeing red.  He was the most infuriating man she’d ever met.

“You know, you’d probably be more comfortable without that big stick up your ass but whatever.  You can count on me when I say I don’t want to be anywhere in your vicinity.  Why would you think otherwise?”

His head swiveled in her direction and his eyes narrowed.  “Given the circumstances upon which we we met you can understand my trepidation.”

Did all British actors speak like they were in a PBS special?

“You want to translate that?” she said, acid in her tone.  “What do you mean?  Our circumstances?  We met at a friend’s get together.  Hardly an event that would strike fear in a man’s heart.”

Tom gave her a condescending look which made her want to smash his pretty face in.  

“You don’t need to pretend.  I know that you and Amanda schemed to fix us up as a couple.”

What the…?

The car pulled up in front of her building but she didn’t budge.  No, she needed to straighten this asshole out first.  Clearly he needed to hear some home-truths.

“I’m not pretending anything.  I didn’t know Amanda was trying to fix us up until halfway through the evening.  Believe me, I would have told her not to bother.  You’re most definitely not my type  Besides I’m not looking to get involved with anyone.”

“Please,” he scoffed.  “You write romance novels.  Of course you’re looking for true love and a husband.”

“It’s literally the last thing I’m looking for,” she said although it was obvious he didn’t believe her.  “I don’t need a man in my life.  I also don’t need to defend myself to you or explain anything.  I owe you nothing, Tom.  This entire situation is from your exceedingly fertile imagination and has no basis in reality.  I’m not looking for a man and I didn’t know Amanda was trying to fix us up.”

He was smiling, clearly amused by her statement.  “You don’t want a man?  You never want to get married?”

Tedi was done.  This smug bastard needed taken down a peg or two.  

Twisting in her seat, she looked him in the eye.  He needed to know she was serious as hell here.  “Let me be clear.  You are the last man that I would ever consider having a relationship with let alone marrying.  In fact, if I wanted companionship, I would get a dog.  If I wanted security, I would make it a German Shepherd.  If I wanted sex, I would buy a vibrator that could last far longer than you could ever dream of.  If I wanted children, I would avail myself of modern medical science. If you were the last man on earth, the human species would die out.”  She poked at his arm.  “That is how little I want to be in a relationship with you.  I don’t even want to be in this car with you.  What Amanda was thinking I have no idea.  She said you were a gentle soul but honestly you are without a doubt the biggest jerk I’ve ever known.  No, make that the second biggest jerk but that’s still nothing to brag about.”

Shoving the car door open, Tedi stumbled out, trembling with anger.  She didn’t want to spend one more second in Tom’s company.  Apparently the little prick felt the same because the door slammed shut and the car zoomed back into traffic.  

Good riddance. 


	4. The Velveteen Apology

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey folks! I'm going to update this story for as long as I can over the weekend but we have a hurricane barreling down on us and at some point I'm going to lose power. For how long? I'm not sure. But I will come back to it when the lights come back on. Thank you for reading!

The next day it was Tom’s turn to buy drinks down at the local and he slid the three beers onto the table where Ben and Martin sat waiting.

“All I’m saying,” he continued as if he hadn’t been gone ten minutes getting the drinks.  “Is that woman is incredibly unpleasant.  I don’t know how Amanda stands her.”

Except that first evening he’d met Tedi, before he’d realized Amanda was trying to fix them up, he’d thought she was intelligent and easy to be around.  After their blow up in the car yesterday, he’d been thinking that maybe he’d overreacted more than a little.  Was it really such a big deal that Amanda and Tedi wanted to try and spark something romantic with him?  

_Yes, it is a big deal.  It’s my fucking life.  No one asked me what I wanted._

Martin’s brows shot up as he claimed a glass for himself.  “I have no idea what you’re talking about.  I find her funny and charming.  She’s smart as a whip too.  Amanda was going to fix you two up but if you’re not interested I know a few other blokes who would thank the deity of their choice to meet a woman like that.”

For some reason Tom didn’t want to delve into why he thought Martin’s idea was a terrible one.  “I think you and I met two different people.  And how can you sit there and casually talk about fixing me up with someone?  You know I hate that shit.  It never works out.  I can see them now…that woman and Amanda planning the rest of my life like I don’t have any say.”  Tom slapped the table and made the glasses shake.  “I won’t let them railroad me into something I don’t want.”

Ben had been just about to set his glass back down after taking a drink but he quickly lifted it into the air again.  “Christ, will you be careful?  We’ll smell like a brewery if you keep pounding the table like that.  And calm the fuck down while you’re at.  You’re paranoid as hell.  People are not plotting behind your back.  You’re a grown man although you rarely act like it.  If you don’t want to do something then by fucking God don’t do it.  Stop acting like you’re a victim here.  It was just a fix up.  You should be glad that Amanda thinks enough of you that she’d fix up one of her friends with you.  She wouldn’t do that with just anyone.”

“One I never asked for,” Tom smirked.  “I don’t need help finding a bird.”

Rolling his eyes, Martin took a hearty gulp of his beer.  “I’m not too sure about that.  The women you’ve dated have left a lot to be desired, mate.  To put it frankly, they’re a bunch of self-absorbed bitches.  And no one is plotting against you.  Hell, Tedi didn’t even know about Amanda’s plans.  It was all Amanda.  If you want to be mad at someone, be mad at her.”

Tom didn’t believe that for a minute.  “Rubbish, she had to have known.  How could she not?”

“Because no one said anything?” Martin replied, his tone laced with sarcasm.  “Amanda was very clear with me at the beginning of the evening.  We were not going to tell Tedi about you because then she’d find a reason not to come.”

“Because she doesn’t like Tom?” Ben asked with a grin.  He was enjoying this far too much.  

Blowing out an exasperated breath, Martin sighed and placed his beer down on the table.  “I shouldn’t even be telling you this but obviously Tom needs to understand that Tedi Oliver is not plotting to drag him to the nearest vicar and make an honest man of him.  Frankly I think that’s the last thing she wants.  She moved to London for a particular reason.  A good reason.  To get away from a situation that basically broke her heart.  She caught her long-time boyfriend in bed with her little sister.  She’s off men and probably will be for quite awhile.  Not even your considerable charms are going to change that, Tom.  Relax, you’re safe.  Now please don’t tell Amanda that I told you.  I was sworn to secrecy.  Tedi doesn’t want people feeling sorry for her.  That’s one of the reasons she moved here.”

It was as if Tom had been thrown back in his seat by massive G-forces.  Tedi’s own sister had cheated with her boyfriend?  That was beyond awful.  

_Oh fucking hell.  That makes me the bad guy.  Shit._

Tom was going to have to apologize.  Something he was actually quite good at because he did it all the time but in this case it was the last thing he’d wanted to do.  

“Are you sure she didn’t know?” Tom asked, already knowing the answer from the expression on his friend’s face.  “Really sure?”

“Really and truly, Tom,” Martin sighed.  “You’ve acted like a royal arsehole and you owe that nice woman a huge apology.  I suggest flowers and fine chocolates.  I heard Tedi telling Amanda she loves sweets.”

Tom was going to have to man up and do the deed.  Except…despite apologizing all the time, he really hated admitting he was wrong.  And obviously he’d been wrong about Tedi.  She wasn’t interested and he’d been hateful, treating her shabbily.  This was going to suck, crawling to her, hat in hand and asking for her forgiveness.  She’d probably tell him where to get off.  

Ben’s brow quirked.  “You are going to apologize, aren’t you?  For the sake of our social group, you two cannot go on like this and she doesn’t deserve your shit.  Grovel and get back into her good graces.”

Doubtful that was going to happen.  The best Tom could hope for was that she didn’t shoot daggers at him with her eyes over dinner or a movie when they were all together.  “I doubt I was ever actually in her good graces to start with.”

Martin took another drink and smiled.  “That’s where you’d be wrong.  Tedi told Amanda she was a big fan of yours.  She’s seen every movie and that’s saying something.  _High Rise_ was weird as hell.  Of course I doubt she’ll ever see another of your films ever again after the crap you’ve pulled.”

Tom had already been feeling pretty shitty but now he felt even worse.  He loved his fans, always trying to do his best for them.  The way he’d acted like could hardly be called anything close to his best.  Ben and Martin were right, he’d been acting like a jerk.  He’d be humble and apologize, but he doubted it would repair the relationship.  It simply had got off to a poor start.  

“I will apologize,” Tom stated firmly.  “I hope Tedi will accept that apology but she and I have both said things we can’t take back.  It might not be so easy to mend things.”

Who was he kidding?  Tedi Oliver was going to laugh in his face and then stomp on his foot.

 

***

 

“Here’s your coffee.”

Gavin handed Tedi the paper cup of caffeinated goodness as they entered the school.  As part of the literacy program she was pushing, Tedi was going to read her favorite childhood book to some young students about six years old.  

_The Velveteen Rabbit._

To this day, the part where the rabbit learns about becoming real made her tear up and cry.  Not a few ladylike sniffles into a handkerchief either.  That ugly cry that made her eyes and nose red and her voice all quivery.  But dammit, she loved this book and she was going to read it today.  She’d cry later when she was back home.  

 

_“Generally, by the time you are Real, most of your hair has been loved off, and your eyes drop out and you get loose in the joints and very shabby. But these things don't matter at all, because once you are Real you can't be ugly, except to people who don't understand.”_

 

She’d dressed as a business woman this morning which meant leaving her usual uniform of pajama pants and sweatshirt behind.  She’d chosen a black skirt, white blouse, and a pair of kick-ass Louboutins that made her legs and ass look amazing.  She’d coiled her long hair up into some semblance of a bun on top of her head and perched a pair of reading glasses on the tip of her nose.  They weren’t for show.  She needed them.  All in all, she was happy with the look.  

That happiness was short-lived however when she entered the large, bright classroom.  At the far end of the room, her nemesis stood next to the pretty teacher who was staring up at him as he was some sort of god.  Shit, Tedi couldn’t go anywhere it seemed without tripping over this guy.  It was like he was everywhere.  

“Gavin, please go find out why Tom Hiddleston is here.”

Poor Gavin didn’t like this assignment the second time any more than the first but like a good employee he trudged over to the one person who seemed to be in charge.  A man in a suit who was shaking hands with another man in a suit, slightly younger.

But it wasn’t Gavin who came back to answer it was Tom, smiling at her as if he didn’t blame her for everything bad in the world.  Which of course was ridiculous.  He hated her guts.

“Tedi, I didn’t realize you were going to be here.”

“That makes two of us.”

His cheeks had turned slightly pink and he was shifting on his feet as if he was nervous which was another crazy thought.  Why would Tom be nervous about reading to some school kids?

“You’re here to read your favorite children’s story?” he asked.  “So am I.  What did you choose?”

It was the closest they’d come to an actual conversation since they’d met and she was instantly wary.  He was probably planning to lull her into a false sense of security and then…BAM.  Hit her with some insane accusation that didn’t make a lick of sense.  

She held up her book and to her horror he did as well.  

They’d chosen the same book.  He also had a copy of The Velveteen Rabbit although unlike hers which was a new book that she was planning to give to the class before she left today, his was a well-worn and dog-eared copy that looked like it might be from his childhood.

Dammit, right in the feels.  Anyone who loved this book couldn’t be completely evil.  Somewhere, deep down, there had to be a redeeming quality inside of the man before her.  

Really deep inside.  Way down.  In the earth’s core kind of depth.  

His eyes crinkled when he smiled in a very attractive way.  Damn.

“It looks like you and I had the same idea,” he chuckled.  “How about we read this together?  Take turns?”

_No way._

“Sure, we can do that,” she heard herself saying.  “You can go first if you’d like.”

Tom shook his head.  “Ladies first.”  Straightening, he seemed to brace himself for a blow.  “They’re finishing their maths lesson and aren’t quite ready for us.  Can we step out for a moment?  There is something I’d like to discuss.”

Tedi had intended on saying no but somehow she found herself standing outside the classroom in the hallway as Tom gazed down at his shoes, his hands shoved in his pockets and his book tucked under his arm.  

“I think,” he said to the floor.  “That I owe you an apology.  I am so sorry for the way I’ve acted and the way I’ve treated you.  It was completely undeserved and I cannot apologize enough.  I hope you can find it in your heart to forgive me.”

Despite not being able to look her in the eye, Tom sounded sincere.

But she wasn’t sure she could believe it.  He was one of the best actors on Earth.

“What witchcraft is this?  Tom Hiddleston is apologizing to me after acting like the biggest ass in London?  Maybe all of Britain?  Are you sure you don’t think I’m a desperate single woman out to trap myself a man?”

When Tedi turned to the sarcastic side, her Southern accent came out in full force.  

Tom finally lifted his head and the remorse she saw in his expression slapped her upside the head.  The bastard was sorry.  For real.

“I do not and I am so sorry I’ve treated you badly.  You must think me a horrible person and I wouldn’t blame you.  As I said I hope you can forgive me but I understand if you cannot.  I just hope that we can be in each other’s company for the sake of our friends.”

She didn’t know what she wanted to do.  Forgive him.  Forget it.  Hate him.  Not hate him.  She was too gobsmacked to think straight.  Honestly she’d never expected this so she wasn’t prepared.  She’d thought they’d hate each other for eternity.

“What changed your mind?” she asked, finally able to speak again.  “It sure wasn’t anything I said.”

His lips twisted with remorse.  “Sadly, I must admit it was not.  Martin told me that Amanda hadn’t said anything to you about fixing us up.”

“I told you that,” she pointed out.  “What changed that you finally believed it?”

More shifting and his gaze darted around before settling back on her.  The blue in his eyes was more green today, and much softer than she’d ever seen before.  It was as if he felt sorry for her.  

_Son of a bitch…_

“Martin, told me why you’re in London,” Tom finally replied, confirming her worst fears.  “After what happened I imagine men aren’t high on your list of favorite things.”

_A few of them in particular._

Her voice shook with anger and betrayal.  She’d been trying to avoid this very scenario and yet here she was dealing with this shit.  Again.  “Amanda shouldn’t have told Martin and he shouldn’t have said anything to you.  This was my personal business and I didn’t want the world to know.”  She leaned closer to Tom, fury making her voice softer than usual.  “You should have believed me without having to talk to Martin.  There was literally zero reason to believe I was a big liar.  As for forgiving you?  I’ll think about it.”

Turning on her high heel, she marched back into the room, tears stinging the backs of her eyes.  Now Tom knew her most humiliating secret.  The worse thing that had ever happened to her.  It made her vulnerable and weak, and she hated that.  And she hated him for knowing it.  It would have been better for them to just stay mad at each forever.  She would have preferred that.  But Martin couldn’t keep a fucking secret.  Who else knew?  Was she going to have to move again?

Everybody now knew…  She might write romance books but that was all just words.  In reality, she was a failure at love and sex.  

 

* * * * 

When Tom and Tedi returned to the classroom he was amazed at how calm and put together she appeared.  No one watching would ever know she’d been close to crying mere moments before as she smiled and laughed with the children.  She had an easy rapport with them and he could easily see her as a mother with her own offspring.  Perhaps a little girl with Tedi’s long dark hair or a little boy with his mum’s stubborn chin and amber colored eyes.  

When they settled down to read to the children, Tedi started off and it was clear how much she loved the book although she seemed glad to hand off the reading duties to him and it wasn’t long before he saw why.  When he came to the part where the Skin Horse explains about becoming real her eyes glittered brightly with tears and her full, pink lips trembled.  He couldn’t help the lump that came to his own throat and he had to clear it a few times so he could continue.  Later when the students asked questions about writing a book, Tedi admitted that particular passage of the book was where she’d formed her ideas about true love.  

It made Tom want to immediately go out, buy one of her books, and then sit down and read it.  He didn’t even like romance novels - or at least he didn’t think he did.  He’d never read one but there was something in the way she spoke about her characters, a passion that was inside of her…  He wanted to hear her words as if they would give him some sort of insight into her heart and soul, but he didn’t want to think too deeply as to why that was important to him.  

When they were finally done for the day, Tedi made a beeline for the outside but Tom was right on her heels.  No way was he going to dredge up all the crap in her life and then leave her to deal with it alone.

“We’ll ride together,” he said, lifting his arm to hail a taxi.  “I live just across the street and a few houses down.”

She opened her mouth to argue but then shut it and shook her head.  “Fine.  Whatever.  I just want to go home.”

“We can order some food,” he offered.  “Are you hungry?”

He quickly shuttled her into the back of a cab and it careened into traffic.  

“I am not hungry but I definitely plan to have a drink when I get home.  Maybe several.”

He didn’t like the sound of that.  He also didn’t like her somber expression.  Since leaving the school, her smile had withered away and she wouldn’t look at him.  This was not good.  He’d inadvertently set off a terrible chain of events all from his own stubbornness.  

“You shouldn’t drink alone,” he protested.  “And you need to eat a little something even if you’re not hungry.”

She didn’t bother to respond and he didn’t push.  Instead they rode in silence until the taxi pulled up to her building.  Without a look back, she exited the vehicle and then turned back to say goodbye but he’d anticipated being given the bum’s rush and he’d also hopped out of the cab.  He wasn’t planning on leaving her alone this afternoon to wallow in whatever despair he’d inspired with his actions.

“I’m not letting you go up to your flat and drink alone.”

Looking up at him, Tedi cocked her head to the side and then nodded.  “Fine, but you have to drink too.  I don’t want to get drunk by myself.”

Tom wasn’t planning on getting drunk but he could have a drink or two with her.  He had a high tolerance for alcohol so he had no doubt he could out-drink this tiny slip of a woman.  

When they entered her flat, she kicked off her shoes and headed for the kitchen.  He eyed the comfortable sofa but then decided that he was more worried about her than tired.  He found her rummaging through the freezer and pulling out liquor bottles.

“Tequila or vodka?”

Neither were his favorite but tequila gave him a wicked headache.  “Vodka, I guess.  I don’t supposed you’re going to mix it with anything?”

“That would just slow me down.”

Leading the way into the living room, she sprawled in front of the gas fireplace and flipped the switch to turn it on.  Two glasses were slapped on the coffee table and she poured both of them a generous measure.  He sat down opposite her and accepted a glass.  

“So Tom, have you ever been humiliated in your life?”  She took a gulp of her vodka and then made a face.  “I mean real humiliation.  The kind where you think that disappearing is the only answer.  Have you?”

He took a sip of the vodka and enjoyed the heat all the way down his throat and into his belly.

“Not like yours,” he admitted.  “But I’ve had my moments.  When I was in college some girl dated me only to get to my roommate and she let everyone know that.  That was pretty humiliating.  Then there have been various auditions in my career.  In general, producers and directors are not in the business to spare our delicate feelings when we don’t get a role.”

She’d finished her drink and was pouring herself another before topping off his own glass.  This was a vanilla flavored vodka and it wasn’t too bad at all.

“Then there was when you did that Robert DeNiro impression right in front of him,” Tedi added unhelpfully.  “What talk show were you on?  I don’t recall but I do remember that I cringed in sympathy for you when you did it.  What in the hell were you thinking anyway?”

Heat suffused Tom’s cheeks.  “That was Graham Norton and I was thinking that DeNiro was my hero.  I guess…I wanted to impress him.”

Her brows shot up and he was even more embarrassed.  “With that impression?”

“It’s a great movie and the impression wasn’t that bad.”  He took another gulp of his vodka.  “I think I know about humiliation right about now.”

She waved away his concerns.  “Relax, it was fine.  I’m just generally rather introverted so I could never in a million years do something like that.  I actually think it’s sort of amazing that you do what you do.  I don’t like it when people are staring at me.”

“I’ve described myself as a dancing bear and I think it’s true.  I love to be the center of attention.”

She lifted her glass in a sort of toast.  “Better you than me.  Of course a shrink would have a field day with that.”  Tedi leaned closer, her expression earnest.  “Tell me, Tom, do you consider yourself insecure and in need of external approval all the time?”

Might as well tell her the truth.  “All actors are insecure and I’m no exception.  As for external approval, I’ll admit that I love applause.  What about you?  Do you read your reviews?”

Her own cheeks had turned pink, probably from the alcohol.  “When a book first comes out I do read the reviews so yes, external approval is important to me too.”

He refilled his glass and he couldn’t remember if he’d refilled it twice or three times.  It didn’t matter as there was still plenty in the bottle.  

“I am sorry, Tedi.  I wish…”

Shaking her head, she reached up and pressed her fingers to his lips.  He had the overwhelming urge to kiss them but somehow he talked himself out of it.  

“You already apologized.  I am still kind of pissed because you took a small misunderstanding and blew it all out of proportion.  Now everyone knows my shameful secret and I’m probably going to have to move again.  I liked it here too.”

Tom didn’t want her to go.  Spending time with her like this showed him why Amanda liked her so much.  

“You don’t have to move anywhere.  No one is going to mention it.  I promise.  And I am sorry.  I don’t think I can say it enough.  Something like that should never happen.” 

Tedi must have read the look on his face because she sighed heavily.  “You look like you have so many questions.  You might as well ask them while I’m getting drunk.  If you’re lucky I won’t even remember tomorrow.”

“You and your family,” he began but wasn’t quite sure how to phrase it.  “I mean…do your parents know what happened?”

She hiccuped and covered her mouth, giggling.  “Yes, they know and no, they don’t really care.  Wait, they do care sort of because it means I left the country but they’re not upset at my sister if that’s what you’re asking.  Annabelle and Roger are getting married so my parents are willing to forgive them.  There’s going to be a big-ass southern wedding in a few months and my family expects me to be there.  Boy, are they going to be disappointed.”

Tom couldn’t believe the callousness of her parents.  “They’re getting married so that makes it okay?”

“When you made that Hank Williams movie how much did you learn about wealthy southern families from old money?”

“Nothing.”

Smiling, she tossed back the rest of her vodka.  “Exactly.  Let’s just say that for a certain portion of society time has frozen and it is still 1950 or thereabouts.  A good marriage into a fine family is the best thing a southern woman can do.”

Tedi’s accent was quite pronounced when she spoke of her family.  

“And this Roger is from a fine family?”

Another hiccup.  “One of the best.  They can trace their lineage back before the Civil War.”

“Can I be honest with you?”  He didn’t wait for her to answer.  “It sounds like you’ve had a lucky escape.  Did you really love this Roger fellow?”

Her lips turned down and she looked like she wanted to cry again.  “I wanted to love him if only he’d loved me back.  I guess that’s why he left me for Annabelle.  That’s the secret, you know.  The one I can never tell anyone.”

“What secret, love?”

She was hugging the vodka bottle as if it was a beloved stuffie.  “I’m a romance writer but no one has ever loved me.  I write about love but I’ve never inspired it in another human being.  Isn’t that sad?”

Tom found that hard to believe.  Tedi was infinitely lovable.  Right now, even half-drunk she was adorable.  If he hadn’t been such an obstinate arse, he’d be the man that she was dating courtesy of a fix up by Amanda.  Now he was just the guy that knew her secrets and she hated that.  Now every time she saw him she was going to be reminded of what she’d left.  

“I’m sure there have been people who have loved you in the past and there will be more in the future.”

She held up her pointer finger.  “I just need one good one.”

He didn’t like to think about her with another man.  At all.  

“I have no doubt you’ll find him.  Probably when you least expect it.”

That thought brought him no comfort.  He couldn’t think of one of Amanda or Martin’s friends that was good enough for Tedi.  She deserved someone really special.  Someone that would treat her like a princess.

Tedi shook her head and refilled their glasses.  “I think my chance has passed.  So let’s have another drink.  When I fall asleep tonight I don’t want to think about my sister or Roger or their very proper and obscenely expensive wedding.”

“What do you want to think about?”

She smiled and leaned back against the table, stretching her toes out to capture some of the warmth from the fire.  “The food you’re going to order.  I’m actually hungry.  And puppies.  I really like puppies.”

Food was an excellent idea.  They’d need something in their stomachs to soak up the alcohol or they were going to end up passed out or sick.  No way was he planning to get rip roaring drunk tonight.  Someone had to be the adult here.

 

***

 

The light from the window pierced Tedi’s skull and she groaned softly as she cautiously opened one eye and then closed it quickly.  Too bright.  What time was it anyway?  The sun was high so it couldn’t be too early.  

Shifting on the mattress, she found herself trapped under something heavy and her fingers reached out to brush it away but instead came in contact with something warm.  

Very warm.  

It didn’t take much exploring to realize she was being weighed down by a heavily muscled arm around her waist.  The real shock was that she hadn’t noticed the face that was buried in her hair at the curve of her neck.  There was also something hard and masculine poking into her backside.  

That was when she realized she was naked and so was her bed partner.

Bits and pieces of the evening before filtered through her fogged brain.  The ride home in the cab.  Italian take out.  Vodka.  Lots of vodka.  Some dancing to fun 80’s tunes.  The rest was a blur but she recalled laughing a lot.  Tom was fun and he’d made her happy.  

From her state of undress and her slightly achy muscles in an intimate area, they’d done more than drink and laugh.  Christ on a pogo stick, what had she been thinking?

She hadn’t been thinking and that was the problem.  

Tedi had gone from hating Tom’s guts to sleeping with him in less than sixteen hours.  

What on earth had she done?  And better yet…what was she - and they - going to do now?

There was a groan and then Tom levered onto his elbow, his arm tightening around her waist.

“Good morning, love.  Did you sleep well?  Why don’t I make us some coffee?”

 

  

 


	5. The morning after

Tedi’s head pounded and her stomach tumbled but the coffee tasted like manna from heaven.  Tom had pulled on his dark trousers but that was all he was wearing as he bustled around her kitchen brewing coffee and making toast.  His long skinny feet were bare along with his muscular torso.  He’d bulked up for his last role and it looked good.  She had definite memories of running her fingers over his flat male nipples and digging her nails into the muscles of his back.  Even if she couldn’t remember she would be been reminded by the half-moon marks on his skin, put there in a moment of pure ecstasy.

It sucked that he looked this good in the morning.  His curls tousled and whistling a lilting tune.  He was so fucking…happy.  

Well, he did get laid last night.  More than once.

_Yeah, well, so did I but I’m not in that good of a mood._

Last night had complicated their relationship exponentially and frankly she didn’t know what to do or say.  She’s studiously avoided looking him in the eye as they’d stumbled out of bed, Tom managing to brush the nape of her neck with his lips before rising.  She hated how good it felt.  He’d also gallantly told her to relax while he made the coffee.  

Tedi didn’t want to like him.  

He placed a plate of dry toast in front of her.  “Eat up, love.  It will help settle your stomach.”

“How do you know I’m nauseous?”

Asshole thought he knew everything.  Except that this time he was right. 

He took a seat across from her at the tiny kitchen table.  “Because you and I drank like fish last night and my stomach’s not one hundred percent so I would assume yours is as bad or worse.  You’re much smaller than I am and the alcohol would have affected you more.”

Rubbing her aching temples she half-heartedly bit into the crisp toast.  She had to admit he’d made it just right.  Not burnt but not soggy either.  Golden brown and perfect.  

Bastard.  

She was on her second cup of coffee and half way through her toast before he spoke again.

“Are we going to talk about this or are we going to pretend it never happened?”

She couldn’t avoid this forever although she’d been hoping for a third cup of coffee and a shower first.  Finally meeting his gaze, she answered his question.

“Actually I was hoping we could pretend it didn’t happen and let everything go back to the way it was.  How about you?”

Tom looked a little hurt by her answer but honestly?  What had he expected?  That she would have forgotten everything they’d said and done to each other since the night they met?  That she would have forgotten why she was in London in the first place?

The hurt had turned to determination.  Dammit.  “I think we should talk about it.”

Tedi wasn’t going to win this one and even if she could she didn’t have the energy to argue.

“Fine, you start.”

Surprise.  It was his third emotion in as many minutes.  She’d shocked him with her easy capitulation.  This was actually kind of fun.  

“Well…first thing I want to say is that I hope you don’t think I make a habit of taking advantage of women who are inebriated because I certainly do not.”

He didn’t have to.  Panties dissolved away around him.  

“I don’t.”  Tedi shook her head, suppressing a smile.  “I would imagine it was my haunting beauty that made it impossible for you to resist me.  That or my skillful dancing to the oldies.  By the way, those moves on the YouTube video…that’s all you’ve got isn’t it?  Those are the only dance moves you know.”

Color suffused his cheeks and his gaze dipped down for a long moment before returning.  

“Most women love my dancing.”

“They don’t know you the way I do.”

He stood and retrieved the coffee pot, refilling their cups.  Thank God.  More caffeine.

“Point well taken.  I just want you to know that I don’t go around getting women drunk and then sleeping with them.  I drank too much as well although I didn’t intend to.  I’d planned to have a few and take care of you but that went sideways.  If I’d been more sober I certainly wouldn’t have allowed last night to happen when both of our judgments were impaired.”  He leaned forward in his chair.  “But I do want to say that although I regret the circumstances that led to last night, I do not in any way, shape, or form regret making love to you.”

It was her turn to blush.  Images from last night rushed through her brain.  Sultry, hot, and passionate.  Her moans and sighs.  His filthy whispers in her ear as he filled her completely.  More than anyone else ever had.  His long fingers had reached spots that until now had been undiscovered.  His lips and hands had learned every inch of her flesh and she had returned the favor, delighting in the differences between his hard male body and her soft, feminine one.  

The sex had been off the charts amazing.  

“It wasn’t…a good idea,” she finally said, clearing her throat to get the entire sentence out.  “I’m not in the best place in my life.  I came to London to get some peace and quiet while the wedding plans were going on.”

“And I ruined that peace and quiet.”

Tom didn’t make it sound like a question so she didn’t bother to answer it, but the answer was a resounding yes.  Since the moment she’d met him peace and quiet had gone out the window. 

“You’re not a bad person,” she admitted, her hands clasped around the warm mug.  “You really seem like a nice man.  We got off to a bad start - your fault - and things have been going downhill since then.  It might just be a good idea to admit defeat and stay the hell away from each other.  Be polite when we’re together but completely ignore each other the rest of the time.  Pretend that the other person isn’t even on the same planet.”

His blue gaze scrutinized her own expression and clearly didn’t buy a word out of her mouth.  “I’m not sure I can do that.  I like you, Tedi.  Very much.  I certainly have a great deal of respect for you as well after the way you’ve dealt with me these past weeks.  As for last night…well…I doubt I’ll forget that even when I’m an old man on my deathbed.”

Her cheeks burned and she couldn’t look at Tom any longer instead staring at her coffee cup as if it held the secrets to the universe.  

“Last night was good.”

The understatement of a lifetime.

Apparently she’d amused Tom because he was smiling widely and chuckling.  “It was more than good, love.  It was transcendent.  At least for me.  If it wasn’t for you, I’d like to ask for a second chance.  Perhaps my drunken fumblings weren’t up to standard.”

Tedi had a personal bugaboo about not lying and telling the truth.  After the fiasco with Roger and her sister it had become even more of one.  She didn’t like lying or even skirting the truth and here she was doing it.  Poorly too.  This wasn’t who she was no matter how embarrassing her actions were.  

“Okay, last night was amazing.”  She looked up from her cup expecting to see him making fun of her but his expression was tender.  Well, shit.  How was she supposed to deal with this?  “I’m still not sure where that puts us, Tom.  Where do we go from here?  Because I’m not sure I’m ready to head back to the bedroom with you.  This was a little too quick for me to be honest.  When I came to London I never expected…”

She didn’t have to finish because he surely knew what she was saying by now.  

“You’re absolutely correct.  We’ve jumped the gun so to speak and skipped over some very important steps.  How about we go back and rectify that?”

Her sluggish mind wasn’t processing his words.  “How?  I don’t suppose you have a hand-dandy time machine?  That would be convenient.”

Reaching across the table, her captured her hand in his own much larger one.  “Tedi Oliver, will you have dinner with me tonight?  Then perhaps we can go to a movie or take a walk in the park?  At the end of the evening I will walk you home and place a kiss on your cherry red lips at your front door.  If I’m lucky, you might invite me in for a cup of tea and more conversation.  One date.  One kiss.  No sex.  What do you say?”

Tedi was finding it hard to breathe.  “You’re asking me on a date?”

“Yes, it’s what I should have done to begin with if I hadn’t been such a jerk.  Give me a chance to show you who I really am, Tedi.  I’m not a bad bloke when you get to know me.”

Sure, they all started out nice but then turned into demons.  Unfaithful devils who couldn’t keep it in their pants.  And this one was a freaking movie star who could pick and choose females.  What chance did Tedi have against actresses and models?

“Why me?”  She hadn’t meant to blurt out the question but now she was glad she’d asked.  “You could have anyone.”

His brows shot up and he laughed, shaking his head.  “I really cannot, I swear.  Yes, there are women who throw themselves at me but they don’t even know me.  Not really.  They want the image.  The Prince Charming.  I’m just me and as you well know, I am not perfect.  I snore.  I fart.  And those are two of my better qualities.”

Almost snorting hot coffee out of her nose, Tedi had to cover her mouth she was laughing so hard.  This was the Tom from last night.  They’d laughed, joked, danced and had so much fun.  Maybe…just maybe it wouldn’t be the end of the world to go on a date with him.  One date.  They’d already had sex after all.  She wasn’t one to sleep around so obviously she was attracted to him.

_Extremely attracted._

Sighing, she tried to look serious.  “You had me at farting.  What time should I be ready tonight?”

Grinning, he picked up her hand and pressed a kiss to the back of it.  “Seven.  Prepare to be wooed, my lady.”

_Please let me not regret this._

 


	6. Santa Claus for President

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So the stories that Tom and Tedi tell each other? They really happened. Just not to Tom and Tedi. But they did happen to people that I actually know and yes we all had a good laugh.

Tom was sweating through his Armani suit.  He was acting as if this was his very first date when in truth he was a man of much experience.  Romantically speaking, that is.  He’d never had much trouble talking to females and he’d learned early on how to behave.  Later as his fame grew however he hadn’t had to put in much effort - if any at all - to catch a woman’s interest.  He was a little rusty.  

This was a woman he wanted to get to know better.  Yes, he knew her in the biblical sense but there was more he wanted to know.  What was her favorite food?  What flavor of ice cream did she like?  What was she looking for in a man? 

The last one was quite important as he found himself rather enamored of Tedi Oliver.  It might have been a drunken evening together but it had been one of the best of his life.  He couldn’t remember having more fun in a very long time.  She was smart, funny, and gorgeous.  Everything Amanda had said she would be.  

Shit.  He’d fucked this up royally.  If he hadn’t been such an asshole they would be farther along in this relationship.

Or he would have run her off by now.  Once they got to know him, women didn’t stick around long.  He wasn’t difficult but the life he led was.  His girlfriends had to be independent enough to deal with his long absences, have sufficient self-esteem not to be threatened by other women, and they had to have accomplishments of their own as he didn’t want someone who lived solely through him.  He liked a female who knew when to act like a lady but could mix it up dirty in the bedroom.  If she didn’t mind him being a little dominant that was bonus points.  

In other words, his perfect woman was Tedi Oliver.  Maybe.  Hopefully.  She seemed to have all the right qualities and the fact that he would crawl across hot coals naked to get to her was a good sign.  

She’d liked the flowers he brought her when he picked her up for their date.  Dressed in a red dress with black high heels she looked totally fuckable but he was determined to keep a leash on his baser instincts.  This was about courting and wooing.  Not getting his freak on.  

Now they were settled in the best Italian restaurant in London at a table with an incredible view of the city.  He’d ordered champagne and the waiter had just finished filling their crystal flutes. 

Tom lifted his and gazed into her amber eyes.  “To us, this night, and second chances.”

She also lifted hers and their glasses clinked.  “I’ll drink to that.”

Sipping at the cool, golden liquid he wanted to talk about one of the subjects on the long list he’d made this afternoon while preparing for this date but the words that came out weren’t thought through in the least.  

“You look incredibly beautiful tonight.  I’m the luckiest man here.”

The corners of her lips turned up and her gaze swept the room.  “Yes, you are but not for the reasons you think.”

“What reason is that?”

She nodded toward the room.  “How many of these people do you think are living their dreams?  Doing something they truly love?  You are and that makes you lucky.”

He was lucky.  He’d be an actor for free if he had to.  

“What about you?  Are you living your dream, Tedi?”

He wished he could reach out and capture the words as they came out of his mouth.  It was an incredibly insensitive question after all that she’d been through but to his surprise she smiled wider and nodded.  “I certainly am.  I always wanted to be a writer when I was a little girl except for the brief moment I wanted to be an actress.  That wish was cruelly ended in the second grade during a school production of _Santa Claus for President_.”

He leaned forward.  “This is a story I simply must hear.  You were in a school play?”

“I was and I had big dreams of stardom along with a crush on the boy who was cast as Santa Claus.  Sadly I don’t even remember his name now which is kind of funny when I think about it because he was my whole world that year.  Anyway, I was dying to be cast in the role of Mrs. Claus because of said cute boy but alas I was given the role of a reporter and I had one line.”

“And?” Tom prompted.  “That can’t be the end of it.”

She sighed but he could tell she was trying not to laugh.  “It was a disaster.  When I walked out on stage and saw the whole school sitting out in the gym I froze.  The cute boy had to prompt me to say my one little line and by then I was mortified.  He ended up holding hands with Marci Martelli at recess the next day and I was heartbroken.  My dream of being a famous actress was ground into dust along with my heart.”

This woman was a delight and he was falling hard and fast.  

“Stage fright is a scourge,” he agreed.  “Although I must say I think that boy showed poor judgment.  Clearly you are far superior to Marci Martelli.”

Wrinkling her nose, Tedi shook her head.  “Marci’s family had a pool in the backyard so she was really popular.  She had a volleyball net too.”

“I’m glad that Marci didn’t take your real dream away from you,” Tom said, trying to keep a straight face.  “You became a writer in spite of that early setback.”

Tedi took another sip of her champagne.  “It’s okay.  Marci’s been married three times already and I hear she’s trolling for number four.  Everything always evens out.  Oh and we finally did get a pool when I was in high school.  We even have a volleyball net in the backyard too.  Ten years too late.”

He couldn’t tear his gaze away from Tedi.  She was fucking gorgeous, glowing and happy.  He wanted to make her feel like this all time.

Would she let him? 

“I want to know everything about you.”

Her eyes widened slightly at his artless declaration but she didn’t run from the restaurant so it was a good sign.  For all his usual smoothness, he was acting like a schoolboy around her, painfully awkward.  

“That might take more time than just dinner,” she replied lightly as their salads were placed in front of them.  “But I want to know about you too.  Tell me something I don’t know about you.  Something that isn’t on Wikipedia or you haven’t revealed in an interview.”

Rubbing his chin, he thought about his options.  He didn’t want to sound lame but she’d revealed a personal anecdote and it was his turn as well.  

But just one thing…

“I have one more question before I tell my story.”  He paused but she didn’t stop him.  “Is your name really Tedi?”

Laughing, she shook her head.  “Heavens no but my real name is quite a mouthful.  Are you ready for it?  Brace yourself now.  Theodosia Victoria Oliver.  Thankfully my father immediately started calling me Tedi but of course the next year my mother did it again and named my sister Annabelle Elizabeth.  My only shock is that she didn’t name one of us Scarlett.”

Theodosia.  Hmmm…she looked more like a Tedi.  His Tedi.  Damn, he liked the sound of that.

“What’s your sister’s nickname?”

“Annabelle,” Tedi replied with an eye roll.  “She doesn’t like shortened names.  Any time any one has tried to call her Anna or Belle she gets upset.  I call her Annabelle Elizabeth and she loves it.  She doesn’t get the joke.”

Tom had a feeling that Tedi’s younger sister didn’t have much of a sense of humor.  That subject was also a touchy one so he wanted to veer the conversation in another direction.

He smoothed down his tie.  “I guess it’s my turn.  Once when I was a child, I was perhaps five or six, my parents had some friends in town and they came to dinner.  I’m not sure what possessed me but I pretended to speak French to them all evening.”

Tedi had covered her mouth but their was mirth in her eyes.  “Pretending?  Are you saying that you didn’t speak French?”

“I was five and definitely not bi-lingual.  I could barely speak English at the time looking back on it.”

His parents and older sister still brought up that dinner party to this day.  If Tedi was going to be in Tom’s life he might as well tell her the story himself instead of letting his family do it.

“Did your parents’ friends know you couldn’t speak French?  Did they humor you?”

Chuckling, he shifted in his chair.  “That’s the funny thing about this story.  They didn’t speak a word of French so they believed me at first but my mother pulled them aside and told them the truth.   Apparently they were nice people because they didn’t want to embarrass me so they simply went along with it all through dinner.”

Tedi was giggling now.  “So why on earth did you pretend to speak French?  What made you think of it?”

His cheeks warmed at the memory.  “My dad had just come back from a business trip to Paris and that’s where I got the idea, but the real reason is what I told you before.  I wanted to be the center of attention.  I wanted to put on a show I guess.”

“And that was the easiest way to do it?”

“It seemed easy at the time,” he laughed.  “Later on I did indeed learn to speak French by the way.”

She shook her head.  “I’ll never understand it.  That need to have eyes on you.  I prefer to skate through unnoticed.”

She simply had no idea.  

He lifted his champagne flute in tribute.  “Too late.  You’re already a woman that everyone is going to notice.”

“I’m not sure how I feel about that.  It’s a little scary.”

He slid his hand the short distance across the table.  “I’ll be there to hold your hand.”

She looked down at it but didn’t reach for him.  “I want to believe that but…”

It hurt.  Not being trusted.  Some of it was his own fault but the worst wound had been inflicted by another man.  This Roger fellow.  Tom wanted to beat the living shit out of him.  

“I’ll earn your trust,” Tom said, the words a vow in his heart.  If he wanted Tedi - and he did - it wouldn’t happen overnight.  She’d been through far too much to fall for him on their first date.  “Will you let me, Tedi darling?”

Slowly, tentatively, she placed her hand in his and he quickly closed his fingers around it before she pulled away.  

“I’ll try but you have to know, Tom, that my faith in men…hell…my faith in humanity is shaken.  I’ve become something I never thought I’d be.  Cynical.  Distrustful.  It’s a horrible thing to say but I find myself just waiting for people to disappoint me.  I hate being like this but I don’t know how to stop.”

His own heart ached in his chest.  If he could only take away her pain and replace it with…love?  No, it was too soon to be talking about the L-word.  But he couldn’t deny that this woman had become infinitely precious to him in a short time.  

He wouldn’t let her down.  

 


	7. Amanda's party

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is probably the last chapter I'll post for a few days. Hurricane is getting closer and we will probably lose power here soon. Enjoy!

Tom could tell that Tedi was really trying to trust him but she’d been so hurt in the past that it wasn’t an easy task for her.  For the past week they’d been spending as much time together as possible and he thought it was going well.  There were a few bumps in the road of course like every relationship but theirs were particularly sticky.  

First, there was the trusting thing.  

He’d been a real dick to her so he’d made the entire situation harder than it needed to be but he was determined to show her he wasn’t as bad a person as he’d acted.  She did seem to be responding to his gestures of flowers and poetry but just when he thought she was relaxed and unguarded, the barrier would snap up between them again and he’d feel like an outsider.  She’d noticed it too and would apologize profusely.  She couldn’t help her reaction but he hoped that eventually she would let him in.

Second, there was the sex thing.  

They’d jumped the gun and had sex too early in the relationship.  Now to show her he could be trusted, he was cooling his heels in a holding pattern until she felt ready to sleep with him again.  When he was working on a movie he sometimes went several weeks or even months not having sex.  He thought about it.  A lot.  But he was so busy working sixteen hours a day he didn’t have the time or energy.  

So it had come as a shock to him that five days of dating had him climbing the walls with sexual frustration.  He was a grown man closer to forty than thirty.  This shouldn’t be an issue but damn, one look at her and his blood started pumping.  He couldn’t erase the images of them sweaty and naked as they’d rolled around her perfect white sheets.  He was obsessed with the way her skin had felt, the silk of her hair, and the scent of that spot just behind her ear.  A little vanilla and a little floral.  Dripping with sex.  

Every now and then he found himself drifting off to that night and Tedi would have to get his attention again, repeating whatever it is she was saying.  She probably thought he was suffering from some sort of concussion but she never said anything.  He liked to think that maybe she was doing the same thing but was better at hiding it.  

Which brought him to the third thing.  The fear thing.  

Only this time it was Tom that was scared.  He’d screwed up so much with Tedi, he was straight up afraid that she wasn’t going to have the same strong feelings for him that he had for her.  He was already deeper than he’d been with a woman in a long time but Tedi?  Not so much.  If he had a time machine he’d go back and fix what he’d broken…

He was really putting himself out there, going way out on a limb for Tedi.  If she smashed his heart into little pieces it was going to take a long time to recover.  If ever.

That made tonight’s date all the more important.  For the very first time they were taking their relationship public.  Well, sort of public.  They were debuting as a couple to their shared friends at Amanda’s birthday party.  While Amanda might have been supportive of a relationship before, Tom wasn’t too sure that was still the case.  Having the approval of their friends would mean a great deal and would surely help him convince Tedi that he was a good man, one worthy of her trust.  

Linking their arms together, he escorted her up the walk to the front door.  He nodded to the long and thin box she carried, wrapped in pretty pastels.  “What did you get the birthday girl?”

“A gift certificate for a spa day.  What about you?”

He made a mental note to get Tedi’s advice on all gift giving from now on.

“A wool scarf and matching gloves plus a book of Elizabeth Barrett Browning poetry.”

Coughing slightly, Tedi turned her head away and he had a feeling that she was trying to cover up her laughter.  “I think the book sounds lovely.  Does she strike you as someone who needs more wool in her day to day life?”

Pressing the doorbell, Tom huffed with annoyance.  “She’s always saying how cold she is.”

Reaching up, she cupped his jaw and gave him a gentle smile.  His heart squeezed tightly in his chest and he was glad that she didn’t expect him to speak because his throat had closed up completely.

“Then your gift is very thoughtful and caring,” Tedi said softly, her fingertips brushing his goatee.  Just like she had that day when they’d filmed the literacy spot.  He’d know then and there he was in trouble.  “I’m sure she’ll love it.”

Love.  Yes, he was beginning to know all about that.

“Tedi, I—“

The door swung open and Amanda stood there with a surprised expression.  “The two of you standing together and no one is yelling.  This is progress.  Come on in.”

Just as well.  If he started spouting off about love and the future Tom was sure Tedi would run away as quickly as possible.  She wasn’t ready for that.  Not yet.  

He could wait.  And he would.

 

 * * * * 

 

“Tom and Tedi,” Amanda sang happily as they chatted in the kitchen.  “Tedi and Tom.  I’m a freaking genius.  Now I want all the dirty details.”

That was never going to happen.  Tedi didn’t kiss and tell. 

“We’re dating,” Tedi said primly, digging into the slab chocolate birthday cake.  They sang happy birthday and Amanda had blown out the candles after making a wish.  A wish she wouldn’t reveal to anyone.  Martin teased her that it must have something to do with him and the bedroom.  “Tom’s a nice man.”

Wrinkling her nose, Amanda sighed in frustration.  “Nice.  What an insipid word.  You’re a romance writer.  I was hoping for a more effusive description.”

“If you’re looking for purple prose you’ve got the wrong girl.  And Tom is nice.  We’ve only been dating a week.  What should I be saying about him?”

“That he’s amazing,” Amanda laughed.  “That he’s gorgeous and funny and intelligent.  Talented too.  He can cook and he does dishes.  I’ve heard he’s not bad in the sack.”

Tom was a terrific lover.  Too good really.  All week long, Tedi had been wrestling with her more carnal thoughts.  She drift back to that night whenever she wasn’t completely occupied which explained why she was all caught up with work.  She didn’t want to allow herself a moment’s rest to relive their lovemaking.  

“It’s only been a week,” Tedi replied.  “Before that we hated each other.  Let’s also not forget that I specifically came to London to get away from men.  I wasn’t looking for any sort of relationship.  So…baby steps.”

Amanda’s smile immediately fell.  “I’m so sorry I told Martin.  He was sworn to secrecy but I swear men are bigger gossips than women.”

“I was upset at first but I’m not anymore.  I get why you told him, and I get why he told Tom.  I just wish everyone didn’t know.  It’s like the world knows my worst secret.”

“You don’t have anything to be ashamed of.  It’s that sister and boyfriend that should rot in hell,” Amanda said with disgust.  “I don’t hold out my hope for the marriage.  They’ve already proved their a couple of lying liars who lie.  Not someone I’d tie myself to for eternity but to each their own.”

Tedi fiddled with the fork on the plate.  “Does it sound weird to say that I hope they have a long and happy marriage?  If they do that means they lied and cheated on me for a good reason.  Otherwise all this destruction was caused for nothing.  I’m not speaking to my sister.  I’m barely on speaking terms with the rest of my family.  Roger has been ostracized by my friends in town and everyone is pointing and whispering behind their backs.  At least if they’re passionately in love and soulmates it would explain all the shit they put us through.”

“It’s not weird at all.  That makes total sense.  For your sake I hope it’s true.”  Amanda refilled our margaritas from the pitcher on the table.  “What about the wedding?  Are you going?”

Rubbing her temple, Tedi groaned.  “They want me to be a fucking bridesmaid.  Can you believe that?  My mother called and basically said that I was in the wedding so then I had to play the bitch card and tell her that there was no way in hell I was going to be in the wedding party.  She twisted me around to the point that I think I agreed to attend as long as I didn’t have to be in the wedding.  But I’ve got a few months before I really have to decide.  If I’m not feeling it at the last minute, I won’t go.  They only want me there so they can all pretend that nothing horrific happened.”

“If you’re there then all is forgiven,” Amanda said knowingly.  “I can’t believe you’re going through this.”

“My family puts the fun in dysfunction.  We’ve been playing passive-aggressive games and pretending nothing was wrong for over three generations.  With a little help from a bottle of gin of course.”

“Booze had held many a family together in the history of the world.”

A thud and then a shriek came from the living room, bringing both Amanda and Tedi to their feet.  They ran toward the sound only to find a red-faced Ben and a furious Isla having it out at the foot of the stairs.  Isla was shaking her finger under Ben’s nose and he looked like he wanted to shout his anger from the rooftops.  

More dysfunction.  

Amanda and Tedi seemed to have joined the argument in progress so the subject of the fight was still unknown.

Ben waved an arm wildly in the air.  “I can’t believe you’ve been sneaking around behind my back.  What does he have that I don’t?  Tell me one thing.”

_And I’m caught up._

Isla’s face crumpled at the question and tears squeezed out of her big blue eyes.  “Time, Ben.  He has time for me.  He has time to listen to me about my day.  He makes time to just be with me.”

“I do that.”

Ben’s voice had broken slightly and a lone tear was falling down his own cheek.  

Isla shook her head, sniffling.  “I know you wish you could.  I know that it frustrates you too, but you don’t.  When we talk, it’s about you.  You and your career.  You and your commitments.  When we go out, we go where you won’t be recognized or we just stay home.  When you call from wherever you are around the world, we talk about you.  We pretend to talk about me but Ben we never really do.  You always need to get back to what you’re doing.  He…he makes it about me.  Me and my happiness come first with him.”

“I can do that.  I can, Isla.”

Ben sounded desperate and heartbroken.  Tedi felt for the man but she also had sympathy for Isla.  It couldn’t be easy dating a movie star that everyone wanted all the time.

_Wait.  That’s me.  Well, shit._

“I don’t think you can,” she said sadly, sitting down on the loveseat.  “And if you could, Ben, why didn’t you do it before?  I shouldn’t have to beg for crumbs of your attention.  Not if you love me.  He doesn’t make me beg.  He puts me first, and he did it without my asking.”

Tedi couldn’t see how Ben was going to win this argument.  Although infidelity was awful and cruel she could see how it happened.  Ben left Isla behind in London for months at a time.  While Isla had a busy career as a doctor, it couldn’t hold her when she was sad or rub her shoulders and tell her she was pretty.  Ben hadn’t been there when she’d needed him and now they were both paying the price.  This was painful and messy.

At some point, Tom had come up behind Tedi, placing his hands on her shoulders in what she was sure was meant to be a reassuring manner.  Except that it wasn’t.  The train wreck in front of her was making it impossible to feel at ease about things with Tom.  She had a nasty image of the two of them having this very same argument in about six or eight months.  Maybe sooner.

He must have read her mind however because he leaned down to whisper in her ear, his warm breath soft on her skin.

“Don’t even think about running from me.  They are not us and we are not them.  We’re going to be okay and we’ll work this out.  We can use them as a cautionary tale so we won’t make the same mistakes.”

“How can you be so sure?”

His lips had moved closer, brushing against her ear and sending a shiver down her spine.  He could arouse her so easily.  

“Because I’ll do anything to make this work between us.  All we have to do is be honest with each other, Tedi.  Just be honest with me.”

Honest with Tom.  Fuck, she wasn’t even sure she could be honest with herself.  

But for him…she’d try.

 

* * * * 

 

Life was good.  Tedi and Tom had spent the last two weeks really getting to know one another and it was driving her fucking crazy.  He was determined that they were going to do this relationship the “right” way as if they’d never had a night of passion.  He wanted to court and woo her and that was sweet and wonderful and…frustrating.  Some evenings when they were sitting on the couch watching Netflix it was all she could do not to hop onto his lap and start ripping his clothes off.

He was even careful to make sure that the good night kisses didn’t go too far, saying that if they did he wasn’t sure he could stop himself.  That sounded like awesome to Tedi but Tom would just shake his head and tell her that they needed to do this so she had time to get used to him in her life.  

_Who said anything about my life?  I want him in my bed!_

Yet she knew Tom had a point and he wasn’t doing this as an exercise in being an asshole.  He truly wanted to take things slowly with her and she appreciated the effort.  It wasn’t easy for him, that she knew without a doubt.  When they kissed she could feel the evidence of his arousal against her belly and she could clearly see the torment in his expression when he tore his lips from hers to catch his breath.  No, this wasn’t a cakewalk for him either and that was the only thing that gave her any comfort these days.  

It had been three long weeks since she’d had his fine self in her bed and she couldn’t stop thinking about it which was a shock.  Never had she been all that sexual, usually disappointed by her intimate encounters, but she and Tom had…chemistry.  

So after giving herself a long pep talk about being cautious and the need for time and space, Tedi knocked on Tom’s front door for the nightly date.  He was supposedly cooking for her tonight and then they were going to pop in a movie.  They’d gone out to dinner and the movies as well, but Tedi was a self-admitted homebody and it turned out Tom loved puttering around the house as well.  She’d teased him a bit about that since he presented himself as an extreme extrovert but he’d blushed and told her he loved a good party but he also loved cocooning on the couch with her.  She took that as a compliment.  

The door swung open and Tom stood there in his usual uniform of blue jeans and a white button down shirt, bare feet, and curls askew.  He had a habit of running his fingers through them and by the end of the day they always looked that way.  She reached up and smoothed them into place and accepted the searingly hot kiss he placed on her lips.

“Hello, darling,” he said warmly, leading her into the house and taking her coat while she kicked off her shoes.  “Dinner is almost ready.  I can put the pasta in as soon as the water boils.”

Something did smell wonderful and her stomach growled in appreciation which only made Tom laugh as he grabbed her hand and dragged her into the kitchen.

“Are you putting me to work?” she joked as leaned against the counter trying to peer into one of the pans and getting a bop on the nose in return.  

Tom poured her a glass of wine.  “No, you get to supervise while I finish up.  I hope you like spaghetti and meatballs.”

“You know perfectly well I love Italian food.  Everything smells amazing.  I didn’t even know you could really cook.”

They’d eaten a truck load of restaurant take out in the last three weeks.

“I don’t have many things I can cook but the few things that I do, I think I do pretty well.”

Taking a sip of her wine, she noticed the table wasn’t set.  “Do you want me to set the table or are we eating in the living room?”

Luckily Tom wasn’t fussy about food outside of the kitchen.  

“I thought we might eat at the coffee table.  What do you think?”

“Sounds good.  I’ll get it ready.”

Tom’s house was always clean but slightly cluttered.  He didn’t like putting things away when he could have them right at his fingertips.  Even if that meant keeping a stack of items on the end tables.  She was forever folding up newspapers and gathering tea cups and putting them in the dishwasher.  

Stacking the plates, silverware, and napkins, she carried them out to the living room and set them on the couch while she made room on the coffee table situated right in front of the television.  She’d moved yesterday’s newspaper and a pad of paper with scribbles on it when she saw…it.  

Sucking in a breath, Tedi took a step back and blinked a few times.  Was she truly seeing what she thought she saw?  It couldn’t be.  Not after all the teeth gnashing and whining but there it was.  Sitting on his table with a bookmark tucked inside.  

Her latest novel.  

After having been such a snide little shit about romance novels he was actually reading one of hers?  Thomas William Hiddleston, a posh little boy with a double first in Classics from Cambridge was reading one of her books.  It defied comprehension.  

She walked to the front window and checked the sky.  Nope, no pigs were flying and the evening news wasn’t discussing parkas in hell.  Surely this was one of the signs of an impending apocalypse?  But she didn’t see four horsemen cantering down the street.  

“Darling,” Tom called from the kitchen.  “Did you get lost in there?”

Kind of.  She was beginning to think she’d crossed over into another dimension.  One where Tom didn’t think any book that wasn’t at least a hundred years old and written in Latin or Greek was trash.  

Picking up the book, she sauntered into the kitchen, holding it up for his inspection.  

“Actually I almost passed out when I found this.  Did you know it was in your house or did someone slip it in here as a practical joke?”

Grinning he took the book from her hands and run his fingers over the spine.  “Very funny.  Of course I knew it was there.  I went to the bookstore like any other chap looking for a book and there it was in a display by the window.  I purchased it and I’m almost done reading it.  I’m enjoying it very much.  The combination of suspense and romance is quite nice.”

Narrowing her eyes, she plucked the book from his hand.  “You don’t have to be condescending about it.  I know you think I write garbage.  Why pretend?”

“Love,” he said softly, reaching for the book and setting it on the counter before pulling her flush against his body.  “I do not think you write garbage.  I admit that I had many preconceived notions about romance novels until I picked up one of yours and actually read it.  But I am serious when I say that it’s very good.  Funny and suspenseful, and of course romantic too.  It’s well written and the characters are compelling.  The only reason dinner isn’t done is because I didn’t want to put it down earlier.  You are an amazing writer and I am proud to be your man.”

Tears were beginning to well up and her throat was suddenly tight.  “You said that my books weren’t _real_ books.”

He nodded, his expression solemn.  “I was a right wanker to say that too and I am very sorry.  As you pointed out that very night, I had no fucking idea what I was talking about.  Can you forgive me?”

How could she not?  He’d called himself a wanker.  

Nodding, she buried her face in his chest as he stroked her hair.  “Do you really like it?”

He used his fingers to lift her chin so she was looking up into those blue eyes.  “I really fucking do.  The suspense part especially.  I haven’t figured out who the murderer is but I have some suspects.”

That made Tedi smile.  “I guarantee you that no matter who you think it is…you’re wrong.”

Tom frowned.  “You can’t possibly no that.”

“Sure I can.  Who do you think did it?”

“Well…one of my suspects is the uncle.  He has motive.”

Ha.  That’s what she’d figured.  

“But no opportunity,” Tedi pointed out.  “He was out of town at the time.”

“That could have been a pretend trip.  Maybe he was still in town.”

“No, he was out of town.  Who else?”

Tapping his chin, Tom considered her question.  “The attorney seems shifty and he definitely had opportunity and motive.”

“Maybe,” she conceded.  “But it’s not him.”

Tom scowled and dropped his arms, reaching for the book.  “That’s the only two people it could be.”

That wasn’t the case but he didn’t see that yet.  

“I’ll give you a hint.  Re-read chapter five.”

Tom leafed to that section of the book.  “Chapter five?  All the way back here?  Are you trying to say that the heroine really isn’t in danger?  That they only think she’s the next target?  Shit, what did I miss?”

Tedi was a book lover herself so she knew what he was going through.  She pushed Tom toward the living room.  “Go and look over chapter five and then keep reading.  I’ll finish dinner.”

He looked conflicted.  “But…I was supposed to cook for you tonight.”

“You reading my book is the best gift ever.  Now go while I start the pasta.  Oh and you might want to check chapter sixteen too.  There’s a clue there.  And Tom?  Next time just ask me for a book.  You don’t have to buy it.  I’ll give you one.”

Mumbling to himself and paging through the book, Tom shuffled out of the kitchen.  

She’d heard that a man was never sexier than when he was doing housework or holding a baby.  That was bullshit.  Or maybe it was just Tom.  But he was never hotter than when he was reading one of her books.  

If she wasn’t careful she was going to fall head over heels for this man.  

 


	8. A little misbehavior

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello! Irma is gone and I am back. No damage to our home but we didn't have power until a few hours ago. Now I'm knee deep in loads of laundry and hurricane junk food. I learned that a diet completely of sugar and salt might sound good but in practice it's quite revolting after a few days.   
> So here's a new chapter and it's a hot one, my lovelies. Like singe your panties off. If it's not your cup of tea, you can read until the first scene break and then check out. Things start heating up from there.

“You can work anywhere, right?”

Tom’s question put Tedi on high alert.  For an actor, he could be lousy at pretending to be casual when his query was actually loaded with meaning.  

They were sitting in a cafe eating lunch a week after she’d discovered her book in his living room.  He’d finished it and raved about the suspense portion and especially about being surprised with the killer.  Then he’d swept her into his arms and whispered that he’d liked the dirty parts too.  

_Now I know what you like, Tedi._

Her entire body had shook with desire but the asshole was acting like they were in Victorian England.  She hadn’t come anywhere near his genitals since their drunken night over a month ago.  

“Yes,” she answered carefully.  “Within reason of course.  What exactly did you have in mind?”

“I have a movie promotion tour,” Tom answered with a grin.  “And I don’t want to go alone.  I want you there with me.  Will you come?”

_I’d gladly come, Tom.  Oh wait…you weren’t talking sex were you?_

Tedi already knew she was going to give in.  Tom was incredibly persuasive and she didn’t really want to be without him, having become used to seeing him every day.  But giving in easily wasn’t her style…  He was far too sure of himself as it was.  And besides she was sexually frustrated and annoyed.  Today especially.  

“How long would we be gone?”

She was just dragging the inevitable out.  

“Two weeks,” he answered in those British clipped tones that made her stomach clench with some unnamed emotion.  “Is that too long?”

No, it was fine.  

“Where would we go?”

“Good question.”  Tom set his fork down on his plate still looking nervous.  As if she might say no.  “New York City, Los Angeles, Toronto, and Tokyo.  Not necessarily in that order.  Oh, and the London premiere first before we head off.”

“Who else will be traveling with us?”

This was fun.  Did he realize that writers could ask questions all day long?

The game is Fuck-With-Tom.  

“Luke, Ollie, a rep from the studio…”  His voice trailed off.  “You’re just messing with me aren’t you?”

Slapping a hand over her mouth, Tedi tried to keep her giggles in check but she just couldn’t.  His disgusted expression didn’t help either.

“For fuck’s sake,” Tom snorted.  “I ought to turn you over my knee when we get back to my place.”

Tedi waggled her eyebrows as her giggles became merciless, her stomach aching.  “That wouldn’t be a punishment but I doubt you’d actually do it.”

Disgust quickly turned to something else…something she’d never seen before…and her giggles died a quick death at the look on his face.  The heat and hunger he didn’t bother to mask.  Not this time.  His pupils were blown wide and the asshole actually licked his lips as if she was a tasty morsel to devour.  

_Yes, baby, yes._

“Young lady,” he said in a haughty tone that had her panties drenched.  “Trust me when I say that if I spank you as a punishment you will not like it and your bottom will be very sore for days.”  He leaned forward and a smile came to his lips but it wasn’t a sweet smile.  It was the kind that the wolf probably gave Little Red Riding Hood.  “Now if I spank for pleasure I can assure you that that’s exactly what you will have.  More than you’ve ever known.”

_Check, please._

The British bastard was not going to get away with teasing her.  It was downright cruel.  

Shrugging, she tried to appear as nonchalant as she could under the circumstances.  

“I guess I’ll never know at the rate we’re going.”

His teeth snapped together in annoyance and she knew she was getting under his skin.  Mission accomplished.  If she couldn’t get laid, she was going to be a pain in the ass.

“Finish your lunch.  We have some shopping to do.”

 

****

 

Maybe she shouldn’t have pissed Tom off after all.  Although he appeared outwardly calm and genial, Tedi could feel an undercurrent of tension shimmering between them.  They’d spoken causally at lunch about the tour - needless to say she’d agreed to go - the travel arrangements, his schedule, the hotel, and a few other items she didn’t quite recall.  All through their fairly mundane conversation there had been the hum of something…anger?  She’d been bitchy on purpose so that wouldn’t be a shock.  Or was he as horny as she was?  Holding himself in check all this time was going overboard.  The first few weeks were fine but this was just torture for torture’s sake.  

Quickly paying the bill, he grasped her elbow and steered her down the street to a non-descript shop a few blocks away.  The signage was so discreet she’d barely seen it - a small rectangle near the door with gold lettering.

_Claudia’s._

Tedi had never heard of it but the foyer of the establishment smelled like money and she ought to know.  She’d been in more than a few of these places with her mother and sister.  They looked like nothing from the outside but inside lay designer treasures with absolutely no price tags.  If you had to ask, you couldn’t afford it.  

“I don’t need any clothes.”

“I seriously doubt that’s true.”  That chilly, clipped tone again.  “However I’m not buying you any.  Not today.”

An elegant older woman stepped out from a doorway, her face wreathed in smiles.  Well dressed and groomed, she might have been thirty or seventy.  Tedi couldn’t tell and it probably didn’t matter anyway.

“Thomas!  So lovely to see you.”  She and Tom kissed European style on each cheek.  It was hard to place her accent but she sounded slightly French.  “And who have you brought with you?  So lovely.”

“Claudia, this is Theodosia but we call her Tedi.  I know I should have called first and I do apologize but I was hoping you could help us a little.”

Tedi wanted to elbow him for using her full name but even she wasn’t that crazy to be a brat right in front of someone.  That behavior was only for Tom.  

“It’s so nice to meet you, Tedi,” Claudia said with a smile.  “And I’m happy to help you.  Any friend of Tom’s is a friend of mine.”

“It’s nice to meet you too,” Tedi said, remembering all the manners that had been pounded into her from birth.  “You have lovely place here.”

Tom must have been pleased because his clamp-like hold loosened slightly and the smile became more natural.  

“Thank you so much, you’re so sweet.  Now please follow me back if you will.  I have a private salon just for you, Thomas.”

It was indeed private and palatial with thick carpeting that her shoes sunk into along with overstuffed couches with plump cushions.  At one end a curtain was half drawn but Tedi could see the far wall was all mirrors.  This was a clothing establishment.  But if he wasn’t buying her new outfits, why were they here?

Tom, however, wasn’t paying any attention to Tedi, focusing solely on Claudia.  “Let’s try a mixture of colors although I think that a pale pink is going to be the best with her coloring.  Also all styles.  I’m not sure what’s going to be my taste.”

While Tedi shuffled uncomfortably on her feet, Claudia smiled and tapped her chin.  “I do think pale pink would be lovely but let me try some more vivid colors on her, Thomas.  With that dark hair and perfect skin I can see her in jewel tones.”

Nodding, Tom seemed to agree.  Fuck him.  They were talking about her like she wasn’t standing right there.  “I trust you.”

“Give me a few minutes to gather the items.”

With that Claudia whirled out of the room, leaving a waft of her perfume behind.  

Blowing out an impatient breath, Tedi spoke through gritted teeth.  “Don’t you ever ignore me like I’m not even here.  And you said we’re not buying clothes—“

“Hush.”  Tom’s commanding tone had her pressing her lips together and another flood to those already drenched panties.  “Had you behaved at lunch like the mature woman I know you to be I wouldn’t be speaking or acting like this.  But because you acted like a child I’m going to treat you like one.  So while we are here you will behave and be polite.  Do you understand?”

This…this was a Tom she’d never seen.  Frankly, she’d had him down as a sub, and she would have been fine with it.  It wouldn’t have been her preference but she could have happily dominated him if it was his kink.  She’d have had to learn how of course but she was quick study.   Good thing too because clearly, she’d been barking up the wrong tree and it was going to cost her dearly.  She had to stop her hands from creeping to her backside where she had a feeling his own hands was going to be making themselves known before the end of the day.

_Lucky me._

“Yes, Sir.”

She’d obviously said the right thing because his frown instantly turned to a smile and he leaned down to drop a tender kiss on her lips.  

“That’s my good girl,” his tone warm and approving, and she felt a matching warmth and pride in her chest.  She’d pleased him.  His hand gently smoothed down her hair.  

He stepped back and gave her his most encouraging smile.  “Now we need to get you ready before Claudia comes back.”

“Yes, Sir.”

She’d tried to sound meek but she wasn’t great at it.

“Good.  Now strip.”

_What?_

 

****

 

Tom should have prepared Tedi a little more.  Sometimes his dominant side came out to play when he least expected it although it wasn’t really his fault this time.  She’d poked and prodded until he’d materialized and now she’d have to deal with him.  Something she seemed to have figured out for herself if her submissively lowered gaze and her primly folded hands were any indication of.  

Already hard as a rock at lunch, his erection had turned painful the first time he’d heard her say “Sir” with such a sweetly obedient tone.  He should probably assure her that he wasn’t like this all the time and today was just a mood but she’d played with him earlier so maybe he’d play with her too.  She was always saying how much she liked games.  

“Good.  Now strip.”

Her gaze jerked up and her eyes went wide.  Tom had to fight to hide his smile at her horrified countenance.  She was almost hyperventilating.  

“Don’t keep me waiting, little girl.  You’re already due one spanking and I don’t think you can take two in one day.  Do as you’re told or there will be unpleasant consequences.”

Slowly, as if she was waiting for him to laugh and tell her it had all been a joke, her fingers raised to the buttons on her blouse, flicking them open one by one when he didn’t tell her to stop.  It was only from years of acting that he was able to hide his more animal lusts as the blouse fluttered to a chair next to her along with her blue jeans.  Standing there in only her bra, panties, and white cotton socks she was truly a sight to behold.  

His.  All his.  Forever, if he had his way.  He hadn’t told her that yet of course.  No sense scaring the shit out of her, but he knew.  She was it.  He was lost to this little witch although today he was going to be the boss for a change.

Tedi seemed to have paused perhaps thinking that she’d bared enough but he had other ideas.  

“Continue.”

She swallowed hard and bent down to pull off her socks, placing them on the growing pile of clothes.  Her hands reached behind her and unhooked that horrible cotton thing she called a bra.  He’d have Claudia burn it.  No way would that would be going back home with them.  

Blessedly it fell away easily, exposing those perfect breasts with their already hard rosy tips.  She was aroused even if she didn’t want to admit it.  Yes, his Tedi liked it when his dominant side paid a visit.  Those horrid cotton panties slid down her exquisite legs and he could see her thighs were shiny with cream.  

His cock jumped in his trousers and he had to clear his throat to cover his whimper of need.  Not yet.  All in good time.  But it was hard to wait when she was completely nude and standing there waiting for him to give her another command.  She was at his mercy totally.  

Running a finger around his suddenly tight and hot collar, he cleared his throat again.

“You can wait behind the curtain until Claudia comes back.”

He almost sounded normal.  Almost.  

Now he just had to get through this fitting session.

 

****

 

Tom had been speaking the truth.  He wasn’t buying her clothes.

He was buying her lingerie.  

The really expensive kind that was not only beautiful but actually comfortable too.  Lace, silk, and satin - filmy fabrics that hid but not completely.  Teasing and tempting the discerning male eye of which Tom certainly was.  He had been correct in saying that pink looked good on her but Claudia had been correct also in that jewel tones were also flattering.  

Never in a million years would Tedi have bothered with lingerie like this.  Roger hadn’t deserved it and she was more practical than romantic.  But as she stepped out from behind the curtain and modeled each set, she couldn’t help but enjoy the pure appreciation he didn’t bother to mask.  He liked what he was seeing and if that huge bulge in his pants were any indication her weeks of waiting were almost over.  

Of course she wasn’t some naive schoolgirl.  Tom wasn’t just buying these for her because he liked seeing her in them.  It was far more than that and had everything to do with her recent brattish behavior.  He’d purchased them - or Dominant Tom had purchased them - because when she wore them she’d know exactly who bought them for her and who she belonged to.  It was a sign of ownership.  Plain and simple.  One that she didn’t begrudge him surprisingly.  He’d always treated her like a princess and she had no doubt that he would continue. 

It had taken almost two hours but they were finally done.  She had a mountain of things, panties, boy shorts, different types of bras, and even sexy nighties.  This had to be costing Tom a small fortune but he didn’t appeared bothered by it at all.  He’d chosen every piece personally after all so it was his doing.  Only a few times had he sought Tedi’s opinion and she’d wisely deferred to him which seemed to please Dominant Tom.

_I’m not stupid._

“Thank you so much, Claudia.”  Tom hugged the woman warmly.  “You’re a genius as usual.”

“Thank you, Claudia,” Tedi said as well, not wanting to appear churlish or ungrateful.  She did like the woman and she’d been very sweet during the fitting.  “You have perfect taste.”

Claudia gave Tedi a peck on each cheek.  “Thank you, my dear.  I hope you enjoy them.  Tom, I’ll package all of these up front and they’ll be waiting for you.  Take your time.  No one will disturb you.”

The last was said over Claudia’s shoulder as she left them alone.  Tedi reached for her pile of clothes but didn’t even get her panties on before Tom intervened.

“Did I say you could get dressed, Tedi?”

Well…no.  Dominant Tom was still in charge it appeared.  She could deal with that.  

“I’m sorry, Sir.”

She dropped the panties back on the stack of clothes but he strode over and picked them up.  

“I’m going to have Claudia burn these cotton monstrosities.  You’re not to wear them again.  Is that understood?”

Did that mean she was going home commando?  She was kind of wet for that.

“Yes, Sir.”

Then he stunned Tedi by lifting them to his nose and breathing deeply.  She almost fainted right then and there.  No man had ever done that in front of her before or had ever appeared to enjoy it.  “Beautiful bouquet.  I love the musk of your arousal, little one.  A man cannot hide his interest in a woman but she also has her subtle tells and the aroma of her sweet honey is one of them.”

She was definitely going to pass out right here on this expensive rug.  The smooth sound of his voice along with the filthy things he was saying had her on the edge of orgasm.  He hadn’t even touched her.  

His smile widened.  “Or the way her thighs are shiny and wet.  As are yours, baby girl.”

Tedi made a valiant effort to twist one leg in front of the other but Tom anticipated her move.  “Naughty.  Don’t ever hide yourself from me.  You are so incredibly beautiful, Tedi, a feast for my eyes.  And my eyes alone.  Now…where were we before we came here?”  He rubbed his chin in thought.  “Ah yes,  I remember now.  We were discussing your punishment for being a brat.  A spanking is in order, is it not?  Bend over and place your palms on the arm of the couch, Tedi.”

Her heart stopped beating and the room spun as a white hot heat swept through her veins, both arousing her and scaring her at the same time.  She wanted it but she feared it too.  She didn’t know this Tom well.  

“Here?” she heard herself croaking.  It wasn’t what she’d planned to say at all but it was what ended up coming out of her suddenly dry mouth.  “Someone might hear.”

He was already rolling up his sleeves.  “No one will interrupt us and these rooms are quiet and insulated.  I’ve never heard a peep from anyone else.”

Now that bugged her.  “Just how many women have you brought here?”

He lowered his chin and she quivered in reaction.  He looked quite stern at this moment.  

“Claudia also sells bespoke suits for men.  I don’t much like that tone by the way.  It’s not going to make this any easier on you.”  He pointed to the arm of the sofa.  “You’re trying my patience, Tedi, and believe me you don’t want to do that.”

Why was she arguing?  She wanted this.  She didn’t want this.  But she wanted it more than she didn’t.  She had to extend a little trust to this Dominant Tom.  Turning, she took the few steps necessary to get in place and bent forward, resting her hands on the plush cushion.  

Her ass in the air and most definitely a target.  

He came up behind her and his own hand caressed the globes of her ass, gently, almost reverently.  He leaned down close to her ear, and pressed a kiss to her cheek.

“It’s going to be okay, my love.  You’re such a good girl and I am so very proud of you.”

That was Regular Tom.  Or maybe it wasn’t.  At this point she wasn’t sure but she was also much more aroused than she was afraid.  So when his hand came down on her bottom the first time she wasn’t quite prepared for the sharp sting and then the glowing heat that followed.  

This man knew how to spank and there was no way it was his first go at it.

He kept his palm moving all around her ass cheeks, up and down, side to side, even at the sensitive tops of her thighs.  Each subsequent smack didn’t hurt all that much but it added to the overall fire and pain that the first few had wrought.  She wasn’t sure when she’d began crying but a few tears had fallen on the silk of the couch where her knuckles had turned white from gripping the abused fabric.  

Then when she didn’t think she could take any more, it was over as quickly as it began.  

His hands were infinitely gentle as they smoothed down her body, whispering sweet words of praise even as his goatee tickled her neck and shoulder.  She heard the metallic sound of his zipper and then he was pressing at her entrance.  But not Dominant Tom.  

No, he was touching her as if she was fine crystal that could crack or break at any moment.  A sob escaped from her throat but it wasn’t from the pain but the sheer beauty of being taken so gently yet thoroughly.  His cock filled every space inside of her leaving no room for the past.  He’d swept that all away from his first touch.  

Their coupling was slow and lazy, his fingers circling her clit and sending her even higher.  When she finally exploded, that bubble that had been growing ever larger inside of her, it was as if it broke apart and silver and gold confetti rained down but then became millions of tiny stars in the inky night sky.  She flew on a cloud until they both came down from their high, Tom also wrung out from his own release.  

She didn’t know how much later it was but she opened her eyes as they cuddled together on that couch, wrapped in a blanket that she would have sworn she hadn’t seen before.  Tom was nuzzling her again, and he appeared to be back to himself. When their gazes met, his eyes were so blue they could have been the Caribbean.  

“Are you alright?” he asked quietly, looking at her intently.  “Did I…hurt you?”

Tedi shook her head, not wanting him for one minute to believe that.  Her ass was on fire but it wasn’t a big deal.  “No, not at all.”  She blushed and buried her head in his neck.  “It was pretty…fantastic.”

He must not have believed her because his hand came up to cup her cheek and turn her so she was looking at him again.  “Sometimes…that side of me….well…not everyone likes it…”

“I do,” she replied instantly.  “I do.  In fact, you need to make a point of bringing him around every now and then.”

His smile was dazzling and the blood in her veins fizzed like golden champagne.  “If you act like that often he will come out.  But you can always request him too.”

“Good to know.”  She lifted her head and ran her gaze around the room.  “Maybe we should go home.  All three of us…if you know what I mean.”

“I do and I think that’s an excellent idea.  _Young lady._ ”

Quivering at that tone, Tedi pressed her lips to Tom’s, wanting him to know what she was feeling even if she wasn’t ready to say it yet.  

Tedi loved Tom.

 


	9. The Publicity Tour takes a turn

So far Tedi had met Asshole Tom, Sweet and Loving Tom, Dominant Tom, and even Geeky Tom.  But now she was becoming acquainted with Tour Tom.  One minute he was all business and the next he was oozing charm, turning women - and men too - into stammering, blushing fools with one flash of his perfect smile.  Tedi was amazed at how slick he was with each person they met, seeming to change before her very eyes into whatever that person seemed to want him to be.  A chameleon for sure but she had to be honest.  She wasn’t sure she liked it.  

Because it begged the question…was he doing it with her too?  Had he simply become whatever it was he thought she wanted or needed?  Will the real Tom please stand up?

“You’re scowling,” Tom said as he closed the door of their hotel room.  They were finally alone after a day of interviews.  Interviews not only about his new movie but about her.  She’d walked red carpets in three cities with Tom and the paparazzi had gone batshit.  So had Twitter but most fans were supportive saying they always thought Tom would end up with a writer.  The few that weren’t happy about it wouldn’t have been happy about anyone.  At least that’s what Tom and Luke said.  She’d decided to believe them because frankly what choice did she have?

Tom had answered the questions about their relationship but so far she’d kept silent, content to let him do the talking for the two of them.  But her own publicist had called and warned her…eventually she was going to have to say something.  Make a statement of some sort.  

Something like this maybe?  _Tom was a total asshole to me when we first met but now I love him and we have sex all the time._

Okay, maybe not.  

“I’m tired, hungry, and cranky.  Scowling is gonna happen.”  She kicked off her shoes and fell across the bed.  “What are the chances I can skip the party tonight?”

Tedi didn’t want to miss the movie but the after parties were starting to blur together.  First, London, then Los Angeles, then Tokyo, and now New York.  They’d be home after this one.  

Sitting next to her on the bed, Tom ran his fingers across her forehead.  She looked like hell with dark circles around her eyes.  He kept telling her to drink more water but she was already floating.  “Are you coming down with something, love?  You’ve been so tired this last week.”

“This tour has officially kicked my ass.  It’s all these time zones.  I have no idea if it’s morning, lunch, or night.  I don’t know how you do this and stay sane.”

She still wasn’t sure home many hours she’d lost flying from Tokyo to New York but it felt like she’d been awake for days.  She was afraid to do the math because it just might be true.  Tom on the other hand looked like he just stepped out of the pages of GQ.  

Asshole.

“I’m used to it,” he shrugged.  “The key is to stay hydrated and keep to the local time even if it means staying up all night.  Melatonin helps you sleep too if your body doesn’t realize it’s night time.”

“My body thought it was nighttime last night but New York didn’t.”

And that idea of how she could work anywhere?  That was a distant dream.  Turns out she was hot-house flower when traveling, her body rebelling at the unfamiliar beds, schedules, and food.  She’d barely been able to concentrate since they’d left Los Angeles.

Leaning forward, he dropped a tender kiss on her lips.  “We won’t stay long at the party, I promise.  We’ll drop in, have our picture taken, then sneak out.  I’ve seen the guest list and they won’t miss us.”

“You don’t have to leave early for me,” Tedi protested, trying to sit up but Tom pressed her back onto the mattress.  “I can get a taxi or something.”

“I’m knackered as well so it’s not a big deal.  Now just lie down and rest.  Close your eyes and take a small nap.  The makeup and hair person won’t be here for another hour.”

If she closed her eyes she wanted to sleep for a hell of a lot longer than an hour.  That short amount of time just seemed cruel and she knew herself well enough to know that if she allowed herself to get all curled up and comfy a crane wouldn’t drag her out of this bed later.  She’d be in for the night.  Full stop.  She was going to need something else to pass the time.

Such as Tom.  Her hand snaked out and wrapped around the cotton material of his t-shirt, tugging her down next to him.  “I have a better idea.  Did Dominant Tom come to New York with us?”

Nuzzling her neck, Tom nipped at her earlobe.  “He most certainly did.”

This would keep her awake.

 

****

 

Tedi and Tom were slow dancing to a ballad she’d never heard before, their bodies brushing with each step, reminding her of how he’d thoroughly pleasured her just five hours ago.  From the heated expression on his face, he had the exact same thoughts.  But this party was purely business and there would be no hanky panky on the dance floor in front of the press.  Just the thought of how they’d been together had her heart pounding and her stomach tumbling.  Even her dress seemed heavy and stifling and she wanted to strip it off, cooling her overheated skin.  

Time to distract herself and him.  

“You were amazing in the movie.  I really loved it.”

Chuckling, her pulled her more tightly against his body.  “Thank you, love, but you’ve seen it four times now.  Aren’t you bored yet?”

“Every time I see it, I see something new in your performance.”

“You’re good for my ego,” he whispered in her ear.  “Thankfully you won’t have to see it again.  We get to go home tomorrow.  I know you’re glad about that.”

She was…but…

“Are you?  Happy about going home, I mean?”

“Of course I am.  Why wouldn’t I be?”

There wasn’t a terribly delicate way to put this.  

“You seem to really enjoy all of the attention.”

His movements stopped and he stood gazing down at her for a long time as the other party goers danced around them.  

“Am not sure what to say to that, Tedi.  Are you saying that you think I crave the adulation because we’ve talked about this before.  I do want their approval but so do you.”

They began to dance again but Tedi wasn’t done with this topic and she could tell neither was Tom.

“I think the question is what are each of us willing to do to get that approval,” she murmured, keeping her voice low.  “I’m not willing to be anything other than who I am.”

Luckily he appeared more amused than angry.  “But you think I’m not being myself?”

Shrugging, she shook her head.  “Honestly?  I have no idea anymore.  I’ve seen about a dozen different Tom’s since the day we met, several of them during this tour, and I don’t know which is the real one.”

He leaned down so he was speaking close to her ear.  “Darling, they all are in one way or another.”

“You acted like a douchebag when we met.”

Tom winced as he remembered those first few weeks.  “Yes, I did and I cannot deny that there is some douchebaggery inside of me.  Hopefully it’s a small part and not visible most of the time but I’d be lying if I said there wasn’t.  I can be a royal arsehole.  Just ask my sisters and they’ll tell you more than you want to know.”

“Good.  It makes me feel better to know that you’re not perfect but that you admit to your less than stellar behavior.”

He gave her a knowing look.  “I take it Roger never did.”

“Roger’s damn near flawless.  If you ever have the misfortune to meet him it will be one of the first things he tells you about himself.  Early and often.  That’s his motto.  He doesn’t want you to forget after all.”

It was the most she’d discussed her asshole ex since that fateful night when they’d both drank too much.  Clearly Tom didn’t want to hear about him and she really didn’t want to talk about him but sometimes her anger tumbled out.

“Sorry,” she said before he could reply.  “Bitter, party of one.  I guess I still have some humiliation issues to work out.”

“Do you love him?  Do you wish you were marrying him?”

Those questions were easy and she had to make sure that Tom believed her answers.  There would be no space in this relationship for misunderstandings regarding past lovers.

“No and hell no.  I don’t think I ever loved him and as for marrying him Annabelle is welcome to him.  I’m not angry about losing Roger, Tom.  I’m angry at getting used that way.  I was blind about who and what he really and truly was.”

Tom nodded in understanding, a smile playing on the edges of his lips.  “That’s why you want to be sure of who I am.  Makes sense.  Let me assure you, love, what you’ve seen is not an act.  This is who I am.”

“Is there more?”

The question slipped out but she was glad she’d asked.  

He didn’t reply at once, seeming to ponder her query.  

“Yes, I think there is more to me that you haven’t seen but I assume there’s more to you as well.  Time will reveal all.  I can’t wait until we’ve been together so long we can finish each other’s sentences.”

That sounded horrifying but Tom apparently thought it was cute.  She could learn to live with it.  The important thing was getting to know one another in depth.  

Reaching up, she tugged at the neckline of her gown, the silky fabric sticking to her flesh.  

“It’s so hot in here.  I need to step outside for a minute.”

Frowning, he placed his hand on her forehead.  “It’s not warm.  In fact, it’s actually a little chilly.  Are you coming down with something?”

Her body wouldn’t dare.  She’d given it a vegetable just last week.

“I’m not sick.  I just need some fresh air.”

“You don’t feel warm but your skin is damp.”  Tom took her hand and led her through the crush of bodies.  “I saw a doorway back here.”

Tom pushed open the metal double doors and a rush of cool air blew over her body, making her dizzy and nauseous.  The ground seemed to undulate under her Jimmy Choos and the world tilted, causing her stomach contents to rise into her throat.  She didn’t know whether to puke or pass out but the black spots in front of her eyes had already made that decision.  The world seemed to fade in slow motion as her knees gave way.  A pair of strong arms kept her from hitting the pavement and there were voices calling her name but they seemed so far away.  She just needed to rest for a minute so she gave into the dark tide that was pulling her under.

 

****

 

They’d taken Tedi’s blood.  She’d peed in a cup.  They’d checked her blood pressure, her temperature, her glands, her ears, her tonsils, and listened to her heart.  

She was fine.  She’d fainted from lack of food and all the time change bullshit.  She’d told Tom that over and over as he’d directed the limo driver to take her to the nearest emergency room.  He, however, wasn’t listening well this evening. Dominant Tom had taken up residence and by God she was going to be checked over by someone with a medical degree whether she liked it or not.  

“I just need a good night’s sleep,” she protested for the hundredth time, lying on the hospital bed as the staff bustled around her.  Tom was perched on the edge of the mattress while they waited for her test results.  Tedi doubted that all these nurses in reality needed to be in this room and that Tom was the main attraction.  They kept giving him looks over their shoulder whenever they pretended to check her IV bag that was pumping fluids into her veins.  

“You were dehydrated,” Tom scolded.  “From now on a bottle of water every hour when we’re traveling.  Sweet tea is diuretic.”

“But it’s my favorite,” she whined, wrinkling her nose in distaste.  This was Bossy Tom and between him and the doctor she was going to be eating broccoli and running marathons.  She’d prided herself on surviving on caffeine and chocolate.  As far as writing best selling novels, it was a winning combination.

“You can still have some but not so much.”  Tom fussed with her covers, making sure they were pulled up to her chest in case she was cold.  “It’s not really good for you.  You need to cut down.”

She was saved from replying as the nice older doctor joined them again, a smile on his face.  Anyone that looked that happy wasn’t delivering the news that she was dying of some rare disease so she was probably fine and going to get to go home any minute.  

He flipped through the papers on his metal clipboard.  “We have the results of your blood work back and pretty much everything looks normal.  Blood sugar is good.  Kidney and thyroid function is normal.  Your iron level is a little low.  Have you been taking your prenatal vitamins?”

The question hung in the air between them like a neon sign flashing in the window of a bar.  

Prenatal vitamins.  Prenatal vitamins.  Prenatal vitamins.

It took a couple of tries before Tedi was able to speak.  “I’m not taking any vitamins.  Why would I?”

The kindly doctor frowned and paged through her file again.  To Tedi’s shock, Tom hadn’t said a word yet although he’d gone a little pale and sweat beads had formed on his forehead.  

“Your Ob/GYN didn’t prescribe prenatal vitamins?  That’s odd.”

Tom still hadn’t spoken but his hand was tugging at his collar as if he was pulling at an imaginary noose.  Luckily Tedi’s sluggish brain was beginning to work and put two and two together and getting holy mother-fucking shit.

Her blood pressure might have been normal before but right now it had to be through the roof.  

“Why do you think I’m pregnant?”

The doctor’s face had gone bright red but this time he’d found the paper he was looking for.  Clearing his throat a few times, he was able to give her the reply she was now expecting.

“We did a routine pregnancy test and it came up positive.  It’s standard procedure.”  More clearing of the throat.  “I take it you didn’t know?”

Not only didn’t she know, she hadn’t suspected a thing which was saying something because she’d been so distracted by Tom that she hadn’t checked a calendar.  She hadn’t had a cycle in two months.  The British bastard must have knocked her up that first night after all the vodka.  They hadn’t taken any precautions because they’d been stupid and drunk.  

Now of course she was just stupid.

“I didn’t know.”

Tedi grabbed onto Tom’s arm and squeezed hard to get his attention.  He looked like he’d seen a ghost and it had rendered him speechless which was a feat in and of itself.  It was hard to get him to shut up but this doctor had managed it without even trying.

“Well…I can prescribe vitamins for you or you can see your regular physician when you get back home.  In the meantime, get plenty of rest and fluids.  Eat a balanced diet and exercise moderately.  I have your discharge papers here.  Once you sign them you can get dressed and go home.”

Pregnant.  As in a baby.  She was going to have a baby.

And it might resemble the man who was sitting on her bed, looking like he might pass out.  He was going to have to nut up because right now she was the one who needed looking after.  He’d have to wait his turn.  

The doctor scurried out of the room probably not wanting to deal with the fall out from his little announcement.  

“Are you going to be sick?  Do you need some water?”

She handed him a bottle of water sitting on the bedside table and he drank it all down in one go, his throat working with each massive gulp.  He set the empty down on the table and finally looked straight at Tedi.

“I am not going to be sick.”

“Good, because I’m still feeling a little frail.  We can’t both be fainters.”

He appeared somewhat insulted.  “I’ve never fainted in my life.”

“Well, I have and it’s no fun.  Now I want to get dressed.”

Swinging her legs down, she grabbed the plastic bag of clothes from the cubby under the bed.  Her evening clothes were going to be wrinkled as hell.  

“We’re not going to talk about this?”

Really?  Now?

She looked around the room and shook her head.  “Not here.  I think we need a little privacy for this conversation.”

But she’d bet a million dollars that they better talk quick because that file had her tests results in it and although the doctor seemed like a trustworthy guy she wasn’t so sure about the rest of the staff.  TMZ might have this information by morning.

“Yes, you’re right.”  Tom nodded, clearly distracted.  “Did you know?”

He thought she’d had this little factoid and hadn’t told him?

“No, I didn’t know.”

Frankly she wasn’t sure she’d truly absorbed the revelation now.  It was as if she intellectually knew it, but it hadn’t sunk all the way into her heart and soul.  Tomorrow she’d be happy but right now she was too busy thinking logically.  And logically, this sucked.  

A new relationship.  A new guy.  She’d just broken up with one man and she was trying to trust another one.  A moment of madness and here she was.  Tom didn’t seem overjoyed either.   In fact, he didn’t look happy.  At all.  

But she’d always wanted children and now she was going to have one.  With or without Tom.  She wouldn’t force him to stay if he wanted to run.  

But she’d cry when he walked away.    

Tom helped her on with her dress, zipping up the back.  His fingers combed through her tangled hair.  

“Are you going to tell Roger?”

Twisting around so she could face Tom, Tedi shook her head.  “Of course not.  Why would I tell him?”

Although eventually her whole family would figure it out when she started looking like a float in the Rose Parade.

Then she realized what Tom was saying.  He thought…

“He’s not the father,” she said firmly, watching his expression closely.  “I haven’t slept with him in over seven months.  This baby is yours.”

And just like that…the man that had never fainted in his life…?

His eyes rolled back into his head and his legs crumpled underneath him and he landed into a heap on the floor although she tried - unsuccessfully - to break his fall. 

This didn’t bode well for him staying conscious when she was giving birth.


	10. Not his finest moment

It certainly wasn’t Tom’s manliest moment.  

It had taken an orderly and two nurses to get him off the floor and into a chair where they’d slapped icy cloths on his cheeks, neck, and wrists.  The entire time he’d protested that he was fine but clearly no one was believing him.  Tedi had stood there watching the scene unfolding before her probably thinking she had a pussy for the father of her child.  Even the nurses who had fawned over him ten minutes ago were somewhat more subdued now, considerably less impressed.  

“I’m fine,” he said firmly, peeling the cold cloths from his person.  “I’m just a little dehydrated and haven’t had enough sleep.”

He didn’t mention the shock and sheer fear that had slipped up his spine when he’d heard Tedi’s words.

His baby. His.  

He hadn’t been happy in the least when he’d thought it was Roger’s but he’d been giving himself a pep talk that men raise other men’s children every day.  He would love it as if it was his own, no question.

But it was his own.  His baby.  

Neither one of them spoke as they walked out the hospital and into the SUV that the car service had sent to pick them.  Nor did they say anything on the way to the hotel or when they exited the vehicle and rode up the elevator to their room, the tension thick in the air.  Thoroughly humiliated by his fainting, Tom wasn’t sure what to say and Tedi looked like she hadn’t slept in days.  She needed her rest, especially now that she was resting for two.  

Tedi was pregnant.  With his baby.  

It was only when the hotel room door closed and locked that she sat on the edge of the bed and spoke.  “I guess we should talk about this.”

“I don’t know what to say.  I mean…how did this happen?”

Her brow quirked at his question and he rushed to clarify.  “I mean…I know how it happened biologically.  What I’m asking is when do you think this happened?”

Wrinkling her nose in thought, Tedi criss-crossed her legs under her.  “I’m guessing that very first night when we both got drunk and didn’t use protection.”

Jesus, he’d forgotten that they didn’t use anything.  They had every other time so she had to be right.  

“That would make you…nine weeks along.  Didn’t you notice…anything?”

Of course the question could go both ways.  They’d made love for two months uninterrupted and he hadn’t thought anything was wrong.  

“Frankly, with everything going on with you and my new life, I didn’t notice.  It’s not like I look forward to my cycle which is erratic to begin with.  I get terrible cramps and mood swings.  I was probably just so grateful it didn’t come I never questioned it.”

Tom mentally did some rudimentary math.  “So if you’re about two months along then you’d be due…December.  Maybe a Christmas baby.”

Tedi rose from the bed and walked over to the wet bar, retrieving a bottle of water from the small fridge.  “Forgive me for my blunt speech here but we’re talking circles around this subject so I’m going to lay my cards on the table.  I certainly didn’t plan this and honestly this is just about the worst time in the world to be pregnant.  Add in the fact that we just started dating and this isn’t the ideal situation.  On the other hand, I’d always been told that it would be difficult for me to get pregnant because of my endometriosis so this pregnancy is also a miracle of sorts.  I’m keeping this baby.  You can stay or you can go.  It’s completely up to you, Tom.  No hard feelings either way.  I get that you have a career and all and a baby might not be what you wanted or needed in your life right now.  I can financially support this child so that’s not an issue.”  She leaned forward and poked him in the chest, her expression earnest.  “But if you decide to leave, you’re gone.  No changing your mind in a few years and coming back to mess up the kid’s life and confuse him.  And if you stay, you’re here.  You’re doing this.  If you get cold feet?  Tough.  If you faint at the sight of his crowning head in my vagina, pick your ass up off the floor and man up.  This baby deserves nothing less than your best.  If you aren’t prepared to give it then you just have to let me know.  I’ll catch the first plane out of here and our time together will be a lovely memory I’ll carry with me for years to come.”

The one thing he admired about Tedi was her straightforward, no holds barred honesty.

The one thing he hated about Tedi was her straightforward, no holds barred honesty.  

And one thing was clear as day to his foggy brain.  Tedi’s maternal instincts had kicked in.  Hard.  She was already protective of the life inside of her and it was that loving determination that made him fall a little more in love with her right in that moment.  She was a fierce momma bear and he’d chosen the perfect woman to have his child.  It might not have been consciously but there had to be a part of him that had known this female was everything that he’d ever wanted.  

He wasn’t fucking going anywhere.  

“I’m staying,” he said quietly but firmly.  “I’m going to be the best father to this child and the best husband to you that I possibly can.  I love you, Tedi.  More than you can imagine and I’m committed.  Full stop.  No running, no hiding.  I don’t know if that’s what you hoped to hear.  Perhaps you wanted me to turn and leave but that’s not going to happen.  The three of us are now a family.”

A family.  With Tedi.  It sounded right.  Funny, how a person didn’t know that they wanted something until they had it.  Now it was all he could think or dream about.  They were going to have a baby and he couldn’t wait.  

However he wasn’t sure if his answer made the woman he worshipped happy.  Fat tears were falling down her cheeks and her lips were trembling.  It occurred to him that she might not be glad that he was the father of her child.  She might have had a different type of man in mind.  An American perhaps?  Or someone smarter or…not an actor?  Did she think he’d pass on his nose or his long, skinny feet to a daughter?  Did she secretly hate curls?

“Darling,” he began but he didn’t get to finish.  Tedi launched herself at him almost knocking the air from his lungs.  Her arms wrapped around his waist like steel bands and she squeezed so hard he could barely take a breath.  

“I love you too,” she said although the words came out as more of a muffled sob as she buried her face in his shirt.  “I really do.”

His fingers tangled in her long, silky hair and he pressed soft kisses on her wet cheeks.  

“My darling girl, we can do this.  We can make a life together as a family.  I know it’s quick but I’ve never been more sure of my heart than I do with you.  I know you’re the one and the fact that you’re having my baby is just an amazing bonus.”

She scrubbed at her cheeks and swollen, red eyes.  “You always know the right thing to say.”

Hardly, and she’d learn that over the next fifty years or so.  But it was sweet that she thought he did.

“And when I don’t know what to say, I just pass out,” he teased, tucking her damp hair behind her ear.  “Let’s hope that’s the first and last time that happens.”

Giggling, she slapped a hand over her mouth.  “That was pretty funny.  You thought it was Roger’s.  Oh god, I’m going to be pregnant at the wedding.”

“And I’ll be right by your side,” Tom assured her.  “They’ll know you’ve truly moved on when you come home with a new husband and a baby on the way.”

“That will be—“  She blinked a few times and then frowned.  “Wait…what did you say?  Husband?  You want…to get married?”

Of course he wanted to get married.  They had a baby on the way and they loved each other.  

“As soon as possible,” he said eagerly, his mind already whirling with ideas for the ceremony and reception.  Tedi however looked less than impressed with the idea.  In fact, she didn’t look happy at all.  “Don’t you want to get married, Tedi?”

Stepping back, she crossed her arms over her chest, her lips a flat line.  “Did you finally decide to ask me my opinion?  I’m still trying to get used to the idea of having a baby so marriage hasn’t really been something I’ve thought about.  But when I do, I’d like to be asked.  I don’t want you to assume that I’d be grateful for a wedding ring because you knocked me up in a drunken night of debauched sex.  I’m no charity case, Hiddleston.”

He’d fucked this already.  How was he going to fix this?

* * * * 

Tom made no sudden movements, not wanting to spook his overly-emotional pregnant girlfriend.  

“Of course I don’t think you’re a charity case,” he said in his most soothing tone.  One that he had perfected at RADA and had used on stage a myriad of times.  “I just love you and the baby so much I want us to be a family, that’s all.  But you’re right, you deserve something far more romantic for a proposal.  Champagne, roses, candlelight…”

Tedi sighed and fell back into the overstuffed sofa.  “I’m sorry.  These pregnancy hormones have me whipping around like something out of the Exorcist already.  Can you imagine what I’m going to be like in a few months?”

Tom really didn’t want to think about that.  It was rather daunting.  And more than little terrifying.

“You’re fine,” he assured her.  “But you were right.  We should talk about this.  But just know that I love you and want to be your husband.  And not just because of the baby.  I’ve been thinking about this for awhile.  I just didn’t want to scare you off.”

Tedi’s brows raised.  “Consider me frightened beyond belief.  Tom, marriage is a serious fucking thing.  It’s an institution and if you’re going to be institutionalized you should give it some thought first.”

He’d been rehearsing for this very conversation.  He hadn’t wanted to have it this soon but the time had come whether he liked it or not.  

“I have given it some thought.”  He knelt down in front of her and took her hands in his.  So small compared to his own.  Every cell in his body was screaming out to him to protect her, make her his own.  “I can’t imagine a life without you in it, Theodosia Victoria Oliver.  Every day with you is better than the day before.  You make me happy.  I know that sounds simplistic but it’s true.  You’re the one I’ve been waiting for and now that you’re here I want to spend every minute with you.”

“Damn,” Tedi drawled.  “You’re good.  You should be an actor or something.”

She was teasing him again which was far better than being angry.

“You know I’m serious.”

Her gaze dropped to where they fingers were entwined.  “I know, and I feel the same.  But you have to understand that this was the one thing I didn’t want to happen when I came to London.”

That hurt a little but he knew she was scared.  She didn’t think he would hurt her, not really, but there was a small part of her that remembered what that douchebag Roger had done.  That sort of thing was going to leave a scar.  

“And yet here we are.  Two people madly in love with a baby on the way,” he replied softly.  “We could second guess ourselves to death, go back and forth about what to do, or we could seize the day knowing that we have a great deal of work ahead of us.  No relationship is easy but we want this.  I know I need this, Tedi.  I need you.”

She took a deep breath and nodded.  “I’m going to seriously think about your proposal.  I mean that.  I going to think about it even though it scares the heck out of me.  But in the meantime I think we have a more pressing issue.”

He couldn’t imagine what was more important than saying vows with Tedi.

“What would that be, gorgeous?”

“That hospital has my positive pregnancy test, handsome, and it could get leaked to the press any moment.  Maybe we should get on top of this and tell family and friends on our terms?”

Oh fuck.  Yes, Tedi was right.  This could be a disaster in the making.

 

* * * *

 

Tom had called Luke first which amused Tedi to no end.  She’d assumed he’d call his mother but no, he’d called his publicist who had hot-footed it up to their hotel room to speak to Tom in person.  Luke was a nice man but Tedi wondered if perhaps he drank too much caffeine or had a nervous condition because he constantly seemed red-faced and upset, pacing back and forth like an expectant father in the waiting room in one of those old sitcoms. 

While Tom talked to Luke, Tedi had phoned her own publicist in New York who was frankly much more laid back and serene about the pregnancy news.   Since her publicist didn’t inflict her personal opinions regarding Tedi’s life choices on her that call was significantly shorter than Tom’s current conversation with Luke.  

Then Tedi had called her best friend even though it was the middle of the night.  Becky wasn’t the type to care what time it was but she’d be pissed if she wasn’t the first to know.  After some drowsy congratulations they both promised to talk when they were better rested.  Becky said that she had dibs on throwing the baby shower.  She also said that Tedi should take Tom up on his marriage proposal before he got to know her better and changed his mind.

Becky had a good point.  

Tom’s meeting with Luke however was still going on.  As if Luke being upset about it was going to change her condition in any way.  The baby was coming whether Luke was happy about it or not.  Fuck him.  He could go pound sand for all she cared and with each passing moment that Tom spoke to Luke, their voices rising with emotion in the next room, Tedi’s fury was growing.  Tom was an adult and Luke was treating him like a child.  She wasn’t in the best of moods and now she was in a foul one.  Again.  This shit had to stop or her blood pressure was going to be through the roof for the next seven months. 

Levering up from the bed, she stomped into the sitting area of the hotel room to confront the two men who were pissing her off.  Luke for being an asshole and Tom for being a wuss.

“For fuck’s sake, Luke, Tom doesn’t owe you any damn explanations.  You’re not his father, his mother, or his employer.  You work for him, a handy fact you seem to have forgotten somewhere along the way.  Stop giving the father of my child a rash of shit.  I’ve had it and I want some peace and goddamn quiet around here.  If you can’t be happy for us, get the fuck out.  The door is right over there.”

Luke’s eyes widened in astonishment and his brows rose to his hairline.  He looked at Tedi then to Tom.  “Are you going to let her talk to me like that?  I’m your friend.”

For a small moment, Tedi wasn’t sure how Tom was going to react.  He’d known Luke for years and her two months.  She might just find out that his loyalty was far stronger to this man than to her.  But to her relief, Tom gave her a smile, crossing his arms over his chest.  His chin took on a resolute tilt.

“Actually, I am.  Tedi is the woman I love and the mother of my child. And she’s also right.  I’ve been standing here trying to justify my actions and decisions to you when I don’t owe you anything.  If you don’t like it you can go.  I can find another publicist.  One that perhaps won’t have so many opinions about how I live my life.  You don’t get a vote, Luke, as to whether I marry or have a child.”

Luke seemed stunned, his mouth opening and closing but no sounds were coming out except for a squeak or two.  He finally seemed to recover his faculties but his face was as red as a tomato.

He pointed to Tedi.  “Listen I like Tedi, I really do.  But there’s no reason to go off the deep end, mate.  Get a paternity test before you do anything rash.  We can keep the pregnancy under wraps until then.  We can keep her her in the states or send her off to somewhere in Europe.  When it’s born we can reassess the situation.  We have your career to think about and the fans don’t want you to be a married man with a family.  They want you to be single and available.”

Trembling with emotion, it was all Tedi could do not to smack Luke right across the face.

“First of all,” she said, concentrating to keep her voice steady.  “Our baby is not an it.  Second, don’t fucking talk about me and make plans for me like I’m not standing right here.  I won’t be hidden somewhere.  I gave Tom an out and he didn’t take it.  The decision has been made.  So for your own bodily safety, you better leave now.  Honestly you make me sick with the way you speak to Tom.”

Luke turned to Tom.  “She’s driving a wedge between us and she’s going to ruin your career.  Women only want you because you’re single.  It will all be over if you go public with her.”

There was a clear choice in front of the man she loved.  Her or his career.  Not that she believed Luke’s bullshit.  She didn’t.  There were many men that were married and she still thought they were sexy and wanted to see them in movies.  

“You’re fired, Luke.”  There was no hesitation in Tom’s voice.  The statement came out clear and strong.  “I’ve been thinking about it for a long time even before I met Tedi but hesitated because of our history.  You created this fucking Prince Charming facade and I hate it.  No one can live up to that and I’m fucking exhausted trying.  I didn’t want to do it in the first place but you insisted.  I should have stood my ground.  If no one wants me in their movie because I’m married with a baby then so be it.  I’ll go back to the theatre.  The most important thing is my family.”

Toms stepped closer to Luke and shoved his finger in the other’s man chest, a menacing look on his face.  “And if you ever refer to my child as an it again or imply that Tedi’s baby isn’t mine you will regret it.  Do I make myself clear?”

Apparently Tom had because Luke whirled on his heel and practically sprinted out of the door leaving just the two of them behind.  Tedi fell into a chair and groaned, her whole body limp.  It had been quite a night.  

“I don’t think I can handle any more drama.  This day has been like two weeks long.”  She grimaced and looked up at Tom from under her lashes.  “I’m sorry about that.  I shouldn’t have intervened but he was making me crazy.  I could hear him from the bedroom and—“

“Stop,” Tom said shaking his head.  “You don’t have anything to apologize for.  I should have cut him off but I let him go on because he was an old friend.”

“Did you mean that?”

Tom laughed quietly and came to perch on the arm of her chair, reaching out to massage her tense and aching shoulders.  “Which part?  That I love you?  That this baby is mine?  That I don’t care about my career?  Yes, it’s all true.”

“Bullshit,” she said bluntly.  “You care about your career.  I know you do.”

“I do but I love you more,” he denied.  “Besides I think Luke was being rather dramatic.  I might lose fans but I might gain some as well.  It’s all a trade off in life.”

“Were you really thinking about firing him?”

 Tom nodded.  “I was and I have a few names but I haven’t talked to them or anything.  I guess I should get on that.”  He pressed a kiss on her forehead.  “And you should be in bed.  We’ve had a very long day and you need your rest.”

She wasn’t going to argue.

“What about you?”  Tedi checked the clock on the table.  “I guess you could call your mom over in England.”

“Yes, and a few publicists too.  I’ll be in bed as soon as I can.  What about your family?  Are you going to tell them?”

Tedi had thought about that question but it made her head hurt.  It was much more complicated than simple dropping the news and hanging up but she had to face the music eventually.

“Yes, but when I’m better rested.  If they hear it from TMZ before me, well, so be it.  They’re not high on my list right now anyway.”  She stood and padded toward the bedroom.  “I really am sorry about Luke.”

Tom might not care tonight but tomorrow it might be a different story.

“It’s just as well, love.  If he’s not on board for these changes in my life then it’s best that we part ways.  Now get some sleep.  You’re building another human being.”

And that had to be the most important thing right now.  Not Luke.  Not her family.  Not her latest novel.  Not even Tom’s proposal.  

It was the baby.  

 

* * * * 

 

The next morning Tom carefully scanned the internet and newspapers but there didn’t appear to be any news regarding the baby.  It was a relief although he was well aware that it might have worked in his favor.  The public pressure might have made Tedi give in to his marriage proposal but then again…she might have said no just to be stubborn.

He’d been so proud of her last night, standing up to Luke the way she had.  Her instincts had been to protect both Tom and the baby.  Tom didn’t need her to do that but he was glad that she felt that strongly for him.  She’d helped him see the situation clearly and he simply couldn’t go on having Luke act as if Tom worked for him.  It had been happening more and more lately and it had to stop.  Now that the deed was done, it felt like  weight was off his shoulders.  He should have done it a long time ago.  

“Are we in the clear?” Tedi asked as they sat at the table eating breakfast.  She’d been texting with her friend who already wanted to throw a baby shower.  Tedi had also informed Tom that Becky was on on his side about marriage.  He liked this Becky person already.

“I think we are,” Tom replied.  “I don’t see anything about you and me in the news other than a few photos from the premiere last night.  Do you think you’re up to flying home today?”

Tedi didn’t answer, instead placing her croissant on the plate and then clearing her throat.  

“About that…I was thinking that maybe I should make a stop along the way.  Two stops actually.”

Tom frowned.  He was anxious to get her back to London where they could seek the best medical doctor in the UK.  “A stop?  Such as?”

Tedi took a deep breath.  “Georgia, as in my hometown.  I think I should tell my parents about the baby in person.”

She was pale but resolute.  And completely serious.  

“Fine, I’ll have my assistant change our tickets to to Atlanta and then on to London.  How long do you think we’ll be there?”

“I can—“

Tom was shaking his head before she even got the words out.  “I’m not letting you face them alone.  I’m going with you.”

Burying her face in her hands, she shook her head.  “This visit might get ugly for various reasons that have nothing to do with our baby.  I can’t put you through that.”

“And you can’t stop me.  I’m going.”  He reached across the table to grasp her hand.  She looked up and her eyes were bright with unshed tears.  “We’re a team now, love.  A family.  Where you go, I go.  That’s how this works.”

One lone silvery tear slid down her creamy cheek.  “I love you.  I love you and I’m afraid if you meet my insane family you’ll run a mile and never look back.”

That would never happen.

“I told you I’m not going anywhere.  Besides my family is a little strange too.  Don’t you think I’m worried about you running as well?”

“No,” she said bluntly.  “My family takes it to a whole new level.  They’re certifiably nuts, Tom.”

“Do you think they won’t like me?”

He didn’t say it out loud but he was worried that they’d find fault with him because he was foreign and an actor.

“Oh my stars, they’ll love you.  You’re so exotic with your accent and your perfect manners and charm.  My mother will want to put you in the trophy room and never let you go.  She’ll start planning the wedding before your second glass of iced tea.  No, this is about me and my parents.”

“I’m still not going anywhere, love.  We travel together or not at all.”

Tedi rolled her eyes.  “Don’t say I didn’t warn you.  Now I better call Becky and tell her our plans.  She’s someone I do want you to meet.  As for how long we’ll be there?  Hopefully not more than twenty-four hours.  If we’re lucky.  But I have an aunt that came to stay with the family for the weekend and she’s still there.  That was twenty-five years ago.  It’s like another dimension in Petal, Georgia.  Time stands still.”

Surely Tedi was exaggerating.  Tom had been in several cities in the States and they were all lovely and the people normal.  She was simply being emotional.

He hoped.

“Wait a second,” he said with a frown.  “You said two stops.  What’s the other one?”

Tedi smiled and held up her telephone.  “You have Becky to thank for this one.  How about we stop off in Vegas first and get married?  She said I better get it all legal before you change your mind.  I figure she’s right.  We can always have a fancy ceremony later.  We don’t even have to tell anyone that we got hitched.  It can be our secret for awhile.”

His heart squeezed so tightly in his chest he could barely take a breath.

“Is this your way of saying that you love me and want to spend the rest of your life with me?”

“It is but I’m going to try and think of new ways to say it every day.  I love you, handsome.”

He was going to be a husband.  And a father.  Life had a way of turning on a dime, and all of this from a small misunderstanding. 

 


	11. It can all turn on a dime

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I may not post a new chapter for a little while as my real life is rudely intruding. But I will keep working on this. I tried not to leave it on a cliffhanger.

They never made it to Georgia.  Or Vegas.  

After a long conversation with Tom’s new publicist Garth, he’d discouraged them from stopping in Vegas and getting married.  If they were spotted he couldn’t control the narrative and neither one of them wanted to start the ball rolling on a story that could spin up a life of its own.  It was a call from Tedi’s friend Becky as she was eating breakfast that helped make the decision not to travel to Georgia either.  Apparently sometime in the night the shit had royally hit the fan and Roger had been caught in a strip club with a few of his friends.  

That alone wouldn’t have been that big of a deal.

But he’d also had a little too much to drink and climbed on stage, dry humping the dancer.  According to Becky who knew the cop that had been called to the scene, Roger had been covered in sweat and glitter.  No charges had been filed but Annabelle was livid and Roger had promised to cancel his bachelor party although Tedi had her doubts as to whether he would actually do it.  He wasn’t one that liked his fun curtailed.  

Anyway, Becky thought it would be better if Tedi and Tom didn’t fly into the mess.  Tedi agreed and decided to tell her parents over the phone after they returned to London.  No one in her family deserved to hear about her pregnancy and engagement in person.  In the mood she was currently in they could damn well read about it in the newspapers.

Tedi had known she would be tired during her pregnancy.  The nurse had warned her that the first and last trimester were especially difficult but nothing had prepared her for the truly bone tired, exhausted, and dragged out feeling she had when they walked through the front door of Tom’s house and collapsed on the sofa.  She’d even slept on the plane and it hadn’t been enough.  The traveling had kicked her ass up one side and down the other.  

Tom had fussed over her the entire trip.  Was she too cold?  Too hot?  Did she want something to eat or drink?  And then when she’d refused food he’d made her eat something anyway, telling her she needed the nutrition.  She had a feeling the next seven months were going to be a battle between Tom trying to tuck a blanket around her and Tedi pushing it off saying she was too hot.  It was sweet that he wanted to care for her but she was going to have to get used to it.  Maybe they could wade in slowly?  

“Why couldn’t you live somewhere closer?” she sighed, her head dropping onto his shoulder, way too tired to move.  She’d just sleep here.  “I swear that was the longest flight of my life.  I think we were on that plane for two solid days.”

Tom chuckled and wrapped an arm around her, pulling her closer to his warm body.  “In a way we were what with losing time from Los Angeles to New York and then New York to London.  We need to get some food in your stomach and then tuck you into bed, my sweet girl.”

“Too tired to eat,” she mumbled, her eyelids already closing.  

“You heard what the nurse said,” he chided, dropping a kiss on her lips.  “Keep a little food in your stomach all the time and you won’t be so sick.”

If only that were working.

“She’s a lying sack of crap because I’ve been nauseous the entire journey.  The only reason I’m not throwing up is that I don’t have the energy.”

She couldn’t see Tom’s face but she could actually feel him frowning.  “Why didn’t you say anything?”

She shrugged, dragging her lids open so she could look into his eyes.  “What were you going to do at forty thousand feet?  I drank the ginger ale and that helped a little.  It was unpleasant but not unbearable.”

“But it’s all my fault.”

Tedi snorted and laughed.  “That’s true.  You had a great orgasm and I’m knocked up and sick to my stomach.  There doesn’t seem to be too much equality in that.”

“I seem to remember you climaxing as well.”  Tom’s voice had fallen at least an octave, deep and sensual.  “Several times as a matter of fact.”

She remembered that too.  If she wasn’t so tired…

“I admit it,” she teased.  “You’re a great big stud that knows what to do with his cock.  Happy now?”

Her British gentleman had a smug grin on his face.  If his fans could see him at this moment they’d be shocked.  “Almost.  I’d like to hear that I know what to do with my hands and tongue as well.”

Tedi rolled her eyes knowing full well he wouldn’t give up until he got his way.

“Fine.  You’re the best I’ve ever had and you’ve got mad skills.  Is that sufficient for your poor wounded ego?”

“For now,” he laughed, levering off the couch and retrieving his phone from the coffee table where he’d tossed it.  “But since you were so sweet I’m going to call in an order of food.  You need to eat.  Then tomorrow morning we’re going to call the best baby doctor in London and after that start planning our wedding.”

Ah yes, the wedding.  She’d had a few thoughts about that but she’d wait until then to discuss them.  She was pretty sure he was going to be happy about her ideas.  

“I want some comfort food.  No curry, handsome.  My tummy can’t take it.”

Was it too early to start having cravings?  Because she had one.

“I’m on it,” he vowed, punching in a few numbers.  “Anything specific?”

“Is there anywhere in London where I can get chicken and dumplings?”

From the shocked look on his face?  Probably not.

 

* * * * 

 

Tom was sitting on the bed with his laptop combing the internet for a simple chicken and dumpling recipe later that evening as Tedi soaked in the bathtub.  She’d said she wanted to be as relaxed as possible before calling her parents.  Since she couldn’t have a drink - and she’d reminded him that it was all his fault - she’d decided a long soak might do the trick.  

He had to admit that he was genuinely curious about Tedi’s parents.  She’d talked about them as little as possible but he was intrigued all the same.  He’d spent a great deal of time the last several years in America but from what Tedi had said that wasn’t going to prepare him for meeting her mother and father.  Two people who apparently thought it was okay for Tedi’s former boyfriend to sleep with her sister as long as he married her afterward.  He could barely wrap his mind around it.  His own parents would have been livid.

Tedi, wrapped in a robe after her bath, slid into bed next to him and pressed a kiss to his cheek.  She smelled like vanilla and coconut body wash and her lips felt warm and soft.  He wanted to reach out and pull her into his lap but she was already tugging at his computer trying to see what he was doing.  

“I told you I already know how to make chicken and dumplings.  You don’t need to find a recipe.”

They’d ended up eating fettuccine alfredo which so far was sitting comfortably in Tedi’s tummy.  Hopefully the baby liked Italian food.  

“I want to be able to do it too,” Tom said, wresting control of the laptop back from his fiancee.  “This recipe looks pretty easy.”

She peered over his shoulder and shook her head.  “It’s broth based.  The kind I eat has a creamier sauce.”

Tom frowned as he re-read the recipe.  “Does it matter?”

She rolled her eyes and stretched out her legs.  “Don’t let my mother hear you say that.  It does matter and it’s a regional thing in the States.  Trust me when I say that the creamier sauce type is better.  I also don’t like vegetables in my chicken and dumplings.”

“Vegetables are good for the baby,” he reminded her, already sifting through the hundreds of links from the search engine. 

“The baby will understand.  I’ll show you how to make it, but not tonight.  It’s easy.  Maybe tomorrow.”

He reached over to the side table and retrieved her phone.  “Are you ready to do this?”

Sighing, she shook her head.  “No, but I can’t think of a good reason not to do it.  Putting it off is just going to make things worse.  I might as well get it over with.”

She took the phone from him.  “Now remember what I said before…don’t engage with them on anything other than a superficial level.  If they start to ask personal questions just pretend you can’t hear them.”

Tom was skeptical.  “Will they believe that?”

“We’ve been passive aggressive in my family for generations, Tom.  Even if they don’t believe it, they’ll never say a word.  This is how we operate.  The only thing missing from this conversation is a pitcher of martinis although they might have one on their end.  Just follow my lead and I’ll have them off the phone in less than five minutes.  Ten if we get stuck talking about Annabelle’s wedding.”

Tom couldn’t quite believe his ears.  “Why on earth would they talk about the wedding when you’re calling them to tell them we’re getting married and having a baby?  It doesn’t make any sense.”

“Of course it doesn’t.”  Her fingers flew over the phone screen.  “But Annabelle is going to think I’ve gotten myself in the family way with an actual honest to God movie star to somehow _one up_ her.  If I show up at her wedding visibly pregnant with you on my arm I’ll take attention away from her, won’t I?  She’s not going to take that sitting down, and my parents will want to avoid any and all unpleasantness.  So if she’s there when we talk to my parents…that wedding will be brought up.  Count on it.”

Tom had a sneaking suspicion that Annabelle had known exactly what she was doing when she’d slept with Roger.  It sounded like the younger sister was quite jealous of the older one.  Sibling rivalry at its worst.  

Tedi put the call on speaker phone and it rang a few times before it was answered by a female with a soft Southern accent.  

“Auntie Leann, it’s Tedi.  Is Mama and Daddy there?”

That must be the aunt who had come for the weekend and never left.  

“Sure are, darlin’.  How are you?  I never hear from you anymore.”

Tedi must like this relative because she was smiling.  

“I know, I know.  I’m fine but things have been a little crazy here.  I promise I’ll put together a nice long email about my travels recently.”

When Tedi talked to her family, her accent became much heavier.  He liked it though, the melodious tones easy on his ears.  

“You better promise, sugar.  Now let me get your mama.  She’s in the living room.  I think your dad’s in there too.  At least he was a while ago.  Talk to you soon.”

“She sounds nice,” Tom offered, keeping his voice low.  

Nodding, Tedi set the phone on the bed between them.  “She is.  You’ll love her and she’ll adore you although I warn you she’s going to want to feed you up.  She’ll say you’re way too skinny.”

Lots of people said that to him, even his own family.  A moment later there was a rustling sound on the other end of the phone and then another woman’s voice, almost identical to the other, came through the speaker.

“Theodosia?  I’ve been wondering when you would call.  It’s been too long.  For all you know I could have been lying in the hospital after a terrible accident.”

Ah, there was that passive-aggressive behavior Tedi had described although it was a little more aggressive than passive at the moment.  

Tedi rolled her eyes at Tom.  “Yes, it’s Tedi, Mama.  And if you were in the hospital Dad or Auntie would have called me.  How’s everything there?”

There was a heavy sigh on the other end of the phone.  “Well, your daddy’s back has been bothering him, the weather had been downright miserable with rain every single day, your sister has gained seven pounds and now the dress has to be let out, oh and the caterer wants to charge extra not to serve mini quiche.  Can you believe that?  Well, I told him that he better not do it and that I’d tell every woman at the country club if he tried.  I swear this wedding is turning my hair gray but all in all I can’t really complain.”

She kind of just had but Tedi didn’t appear phased in the least.  

Tedi’s eyes lit up and she mouthed _watch this_.

“I hope it doesn’t rain on the wedding day,” Tedi replied with just enough sympathy in her tone.  “That would ruin everything.”

A gasp.  “It wouldn’t dare.  Don’t even say the words, young lady.  Now, I hope you’re calling to tell me that you’ve decided to be a bridesmaid.  We have your dress all ready for you.  It would mean so much to your sister if you’d say yes.  Show everyone that we’ve put all this messiness behind us.  We’re Olivers after all and we stick together.”

There was absolutely no mention whatsoever of Roger’s naughty behavior.  It was as if it didn’t exist.  Interesting.  

Tedi placed her hand on Tom’s and gave it a squeeze.  Immediately he got the message taking her hand in both of his.  She needed the support.  

“Actually Mama I doubt the dress will fit by then and that’s why I’m calling you.  I have some rather big news.  I’m engaged and having a baby.”

There was a long beat of silence while her mother absorbed the news.  Tom held his breath waiting for some kind of reaction.  Any kind really.  Would it be good or bad?  Calm or hysterical?

“Can you say that again, Theodosia?  I’m not sure I heard correctly.”

“I’m getting married,” Tedi repeated, her eyes wide as she looked at Tom.  “And I’m having a baby.  You’ll love Tom, he’s wonderful.  Absolutely amazing.  He’s British and an actor.  You may have heard of him.  Tom Hiddleston?  He plays Loki in the Marvel movies.”

More silence.  Tedi shrugged obviously unsure herself as to how her mother was reacting.  

“A baby?”

Finally some response.  

Tedi nodded although her mother couldn’t see her.  “Yes, Mama.  A baby.  Due around Christmas.  Won’t that be lovely?  A Christmas baby.”

Holding out the phone to Tom, she gave him an encouraging look.  He might as well get this over with.

“Mrs. Oliver?  I’m Tom and I’m so happy to be marrying Tedi.  I want you and your husband to know that I love your daughter very much and I’m going to take very good care of her and the baby.”

Tedi’s mother cleared her throat.  “This is wonderful news, darlin’.  Just wonderful.  I’m just a little surprised that’s all.  But happy.  I just wish your daddy was here to hear the news.  He’s outside messing in the garage.  Why don’t I go and tell him and then we can call you back in a few hours?  Did you tell Leann?”

“No, Mama.  I wanted to tell you first.”

“Then I’ll ice some champagne and we’ll all toast your wonderful news.  Just let me gather the family around and we’ll call you back.  How does that sound?”

This was going far better than Tom had ever expected.  They seemed genuinely happy for Tedi.  Perhaps she had been a trifle pessimistic. 

“Sounds good.  We’ll be here.”

Tedi hung up the phone and groaned, pressing it to her chest.  “That was terrible.  The shit has really hit the fan back at home.  I’m glad I’m not there.”

Frowning, he shook his head.  “It sounded like she was happy for us.  She’s going to break out the champagne.”

His own mother had been thrilled and they’d talked for almost an hour making plans.  He couldn’t wait for Tedi to meet his family.  They were going to adore her.  

Tossing the phone on the nightstand, Tedi slapped her hand against her forehead.  “That’s Oliver-speak for _I need a pitcher of martinis and a Xanax_.  Knowing Mama, she’s going to take to her bed for a few hours or until Dad drags his head out from under the hood of the latest vintage car he’s restoring and tells her to _act like an Oliver._   Then they’ll force Annabelle to get on the call to us and act like she’s happy all while they wonder what they did wrong when raising me.  Finally they’ll pretend that they don’t care and that everything is wonderful because that’s what we do.”

“That sounds awful.”

Tedi shrugged again and sighed.  “It could be worse.  We might scream and yell at one another.  At least it’s peaceful.”

Tom didn’t like the sound of this one bit and he wasn’t looking forward to attending the wedding.  At all.  Maybe they could skip it.  He could come down with twenty-four hour malaria or something.

“All because of me,” he replied heavily.  “And because you got pregnant before the wedding.  Love, I am so sorry.”

Laughing, Tedi launched herself at him, pressing kisses all over his face.  “Baby, that’s not why they’re upset.  They don’t care about any of that as long as we get married.”

“Then what’s the issue?  Is it because I’m not American?”

There wasn’t anything he could do about that.

“They’re upset,” Tedi explained, lying her head on his chest.  “Because now they have to deal with Annabelle being butthurt.  As I said before, she’s going to think I did this on purpose and other people might too.  She’s going to be a royal bitch about it.  They’re probably also a little perturbed that all of this is out of their control.  They know they’re not going to get to throw me a big white wedding and all that ghastly shit.  It doesn’t have anything to do with you, babe.  Their disappointment is in me.”

“They should consider themselves lucky to have a daughter like you.”

“Let’s just be happy that we told them the news and we can move on with our own lives now.”

“They’re going to call back in a few hours,” Tom pointed out.  “What then?”

“We just pretend we’re happy to speak to them.  That’s what we do in my family.  We pretend.  In a way, I’m an actor too.”

Tom was glad they had decided not to stop in Georgia.  He wasn’t sure he was ready to meet Tedi’s family.  Frankly he didn’t have a clue as to how she’d dealt with it all over the years.  No wonder she’d moved to London.  

Drowsy, Tedi burrowed deeper into his chest.  She’d been sleeping a lot.  “Do we have anything planned for tomorrow?”

“Nothing important.  I want you to sleep in tomorrow.  You need your rest.  We also need to call the doctor tomorrow as well.  I’ll ask Martin and Amanda if there’s anyone they would recommend.”

Her soft snoring told him she was already asleep. Carefully so as not to wake her, he adjusted to a more comfortable position and then reached for the remote to switch on the television.  Far too keyed up waiting for her family to call back, he knew he wouldn’t sleep.

He also wouldn’t allow her parents to stress Tedi out too much.  If he had to he’d place himself firmly between them.  Before she’d had no one to take her side.  Now she had him and he would always protect her and their baby.  The Olivers were done doing their worst when it came to their oldest daughter.  

He wouldn’t allow anyone to hurt her.  

 


	12. Actor boy and Writer girl

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry about the delay on this. Real life and all that. Hope you enjoy!

“Will you calm down.  She’s going to love you.”

Tom wished he could pull the car over and draw his beautiful fiancee into his arms but Tedi didn’t look like she’d welcome it at the moment.  She was nervous about meeting his mother, sure that Diana would be upset that they’d…what was the phrase Tedi had used?  

_Anticipated their marriage vows._

He shouldn’t have laughed when she’d said it but it was the prim tone she’d used that had sent him over the edge.  Now she was nervous and mad.  At him specifically.  According to the pregnancy book he’d purchased and had been reading, he’d better get used to it.  

“She’s going to think I’m some sort of jezebel out to seduce and trap her only son,” Tedi declared, her Southern accent particularly strong this morning.  “She probably thinks I planned the whole thing.”

Now that was pure ridiculousness.  

“Hardly, love.  I’ve already told Mum about you and she can’t wait to meet you.  And believe me, she doesn’t think you’re a jezebel.  What a delightful turn of phrase, darling.  You do have a way with words.”

“I’m a freakin’ writer.”  Tedi’s gaze jerked away from the road and settled heavily on him, her brows pulled together and her lips a thin line.  “You told your mother about me?  What did you say, actor boy?  And don’t leave anything out.”

Now that was indeed an interesting story.  

“Well… _writer girl,_ I actually talked about you before we ever got together.”

Pressing a hand to her forehead, Tedi groaned.  “Oh my God, when we were hating each other?  She thinks I’m a jezebel and a bitch.  This is just great.  Turn the damn car around now.”

“Actually she took your side.  Told me I was acting like a child.  I didn’t appreciate it at the time but now I think it’s sort of funny.  Please, I beg of you, stop worrying.  She’s looking forward to meeting you.  She’s even read one of your books and enjoyed it a great deal.  And she’s over the moon about the wedding and the baby.  She’s going to drive you crazy wanting to help with the planning.  I do hope you’ll let her be a part of that if only just a little.  It would mean so much to her.”

He’d warned his mother that Tedi was something of a control freak.

“Of course she can,” Tedi exclaimed.  “I don’t know much about planning a wedding in a foreign country so I’ll take all the help I can get.”

“I can help too.”

Tedi was giving him some side-eye.  “Do you really want to help or are you just saying that because you think you should?”

Tom didn’t even have to think about it.  He was only going to do this once so he wanted it to be special.

“I really want to help.”

He wasn’t sure if this was good news or bad news to his beloved, but then she smiled - the first one of the drive - and he was relieved.

“I’m going to need you,” she said in a small voice.  “I don’t think I can do all of this alone.”

This pregnancy had knocked Tedi for a loop and the hormones were playing ruthlessly with her emotions.  One minute she was happy and laughing, the next she was in tears.  

“Baby, you could do anything you wanted to all by yourself, but you don’t have to.  I’ll be there every step of the way.”

That smile dimmed immediately.  “Until you have to go to work again.  Then I’ll be on my own.”

“You go where I go,” Tom said, making sure his tone was clear and firm.  “We’ll be together so don’t imagine it’s going to be any different.  I have a meeting with my agent on Wednesday to make sure my schedule is clear the last month of your pregnancy plus at least six months afterward.”

“Good,” she replied after a long moment.  “Now are we almost there?  I think I need to puke again.”

Sadly that had become a daily occurrence, and his poor love didn’t even seem to mind anymore.  There was no running to the bathroom or dramatic exits.  She’d simply roll her eyes and trudge off to the loo like a good little soldier.  At first, he hadn’t realized what was going on but then he’d realized what was happening so he’d follow her with a glass of water and a damp cloth for her face and neck.  He might not be able to stop the sickness but he could at least try and make her feel better.  

Tedi’s morning sickness was incredibly unpredictable and would come and go at random hours of the day and night, and there didn’t seem to be much rhyme or reason to it.  There were only two things that didn’t seem to upset her delicate tummy.  Chicken and dumplings and chocolate ice cream.  Not eaten together of course.  But separately they managed to settle her nausea better than just about anything else they’d tried.  

“Do you want me to pull over?  It’s another thirty minutes to Mum’s.”

“You’d better,” she sighed.  “Unless you think that the leather interior is easy to clean.”

It wasn’t so he did.  Only seven or so more months.

****

 

The house was bigger than Tedi had imagined it although she should have known it would be large to house Tom, his sisters and their families all at the holidays.  Tom placed a steadying arm around her waist as they walked up the stone pathway to the front door.  He didn’t ring the doorbell or even knock, simply opening the door and ushering them inside while he bellowed out to his mother.  If the baby inherited those lungs the neighbors were going to hear him or her at every feeding or diaper change.  

An older, silver-haired woman in slacks and a v-necked sweater rounded a corner, drying her hands on a dishtowel.  She wasn’t tall like Tom but Tedi could easily see the resemblance in their facial features.  This was Tom’s mother.  No doubt about it.

“Sorry we’re a little late, Mum.  Tedi was sick and we had to stop for a few minutes.”

What Tom wasn’t saying was that she’d been as sick as a dog on the side of the road, watching her breakfast come back up backwards while Tom lovingly held her hair out of the way.  She had to give it to him that he didn’t shirk from his duty even when she could hear him gagging behind her, he didn’t leave her side.

“It’s fine.  Lunch isn’t quite ready.”

The mere mention of food had Tedi’s stomach lurching.  Diana noticed immediately and came straight to her side, leading her away from Tom and towards the couch.  

“Poor thing, you look truly green.  Tom, go make some tea and bring some of those digestive biscuits.  It might help settle her stomach.”

That was even worse.  Bile rose in Tedi’s throat and she had to swallow hard to keep it down.  Luckily she’d had plenty of practice in the last few weeks. She covered her eyes with her fingers, rubbing at the temples and hoping to distract herself.

Tom went straight into action, digging into the messenger bag he now carried with him everywhere.  

“That will only make her more nauseous, Mum.”  He slipped the pressure bands on her wrists and then unwrapped one of her nausea lollipops, slipping it into her mouth.  “Did you buy the chocolate ice cream like I asked?”

“I did, but lunch—“

“Once her stomach settles she can eat, but not until then.”  Tom pressed a kiss to her clammy forehead.  “Sit here, writer girl, and I’ll make you a little bowl of ice cream.”

Tedi peeked through her fingers at Tom’s mother who appeared to be gobsmacked at her own son’s behavior.

“He’s bossy,” Tedi finally said.  “Really, really bossy.  This pregnancy is only making it worse.”

Diana still looked puzzled.  “He’s never been like that before.  Not much anyway.  He’s usually so relaxed and easy going.”

“That,” Tedi sighed, “would be a nice change.  He’s going to worry himself into an early grave if he’s not careful.”

Diana didn’t get a chance to reply as Tom bustled back into the living room with a small bowl of ice cream and a damp cloth.  He gently patted her cheeks, forehead and neck while she ate the few bites of ice cream.  Between that and the pressure bands she was feeling almost human again.  

“Better, love?”

Tedi nodded and handed him her empty bowl.  “Much better, thank you.”  She leaned forward to speak into his ear so his mother couldn’t hear.  “You take good care of me, actor boy.”

His smile was answer enough and he levered back to his feet and disappeared into the kitchen with the cloth and the bowl, leaving Tedi with Diana.

“I’ve never seen him like that.”  Diana was smiling too.  She looked so much like Tom when she did.  “I knew he loved you.  He’d told me after all several times but I just didn’t…this is so much more than I ever imagined.  As the youngest in the family, Tom has never been much of a caretaker but he’s taken to it so naturally.  He doesn’t just love you.  He _worships_ you.  He’d do anything for you.”

Tedi would rather write a thousand romance books about other people’s feelings than discuss her own with a relative stranger but she felt she owed this woman some assurance that her baby boy hadn’t gone down the rabbit hole.

“I feel the exact same way about him.  Honestly he hasn’t been this bad until he found out I was pregnant and even then he was fairly relaxed.  It was when this nausea started kicking my ass that he’s had to step in and up.  I’m so grateful because most days I feel like climbing into bed and staying there for the next seven months.”

“I like this Tom.”  Diana seemed to shake off her reverie and looked down at Tedi.  “We can have lunch now or we can wait.  It’s your choice.  It will stay warm on the stove.”

Tedi was afraid to ask.  “What’s for lunch?”

“Pot roast and veg.”

She was feeling much better.  It would probably be fine.  Maybe.

“I think we can eat whenever you’d like to.”

 

****

 

It had all gone better than Tedi had ever imagined.  Diana didn’t seem upset at all that Tom was marrying a woman he’d known less than six months or that the woman was knocked up and puking pretty much all the time.  

They talked about the wedding and Tedi, much to Tom and Diana’s astonishment, suggested a small English country wedding.  She was sure that they’d expected her to push for some over the top monstrosity back in the States but honestly she had no interest in that, preferring to keep it quiet and cozy.  

And local.  Tedi wanted a wedding in her new country.  She knew Tom wanted that as well although he would never have asked.  Diana was delighted and had all sorts of ideas for venues and such.  Tedi was very clear with them.  She only cared about three things on her wedding day.

The cake.  Because…well…it was cake and she loved eating cake.

The gown.  Because she wanted to look good.

Tom.  She just wanted Tom to show up.  Cold feet weren’t good at any time for any reason.

She wasn’t fussy about the venue or the food or Tom’s tux or all of those other details. 

Tom seemed to find it amusing that she thought he wouldn’t show for his own wedding but then his expression had sobered when he remembered her past relationship.  He reached out and squeezed her hand silently as if to assure her that he was different.  

She certainly hoped so because she was counting on him and not just for a wedding.  

“I told you everything would be fine,” Tom said with a smug smile as they drove away.  They’d promised Diana that next time they’d stay for a few days but she and Tom had a doctor’s appointment tomorrow morning.  He had, indeed, found one of the most prestigious maternity practices in London.  “She adores you.”

“She barely knows me,” Tedi argued.  “But we did seem to get along well.”

“You got along famously.  Believe me when I say that Mum wouldn’t bother to pretend if she didn’t like you.”

Diana did seem the straightforward type, a trait that Tedi appreciated it.  

“She said she’s never seen you so…large and in charge before.”

Laughing, Tom took his gaze from the road for a moment to glance at Tedi.  “That’s because in that household the females were always so bossy.  I was just trying to keep the peace.”

“Poor Tom, loved by too many women.  It must be so hard for you.”

He lifted her hand from where it was sitting between them and placed it on the zipper-portion of his trousers.  “Yes, it is.”

It certainly was hard and ready.  “You’ll have to wait until we get home.  Even you can’t romance me while driving home to London.”

“I can try.”

She had visions of twisted metal, blood on the highway, and her driver’s ed teacher lecturing the class.  

“Let’s not.  And can you pull over, please?”

His brows waggled.  “For a quick one?”

Men.  One track minds.  All of them.

“No, I need to puke again.”

_Damn pot roast._  

And again, and again, and again.  Maybe she could mention it to the doctor tomorrow.  There might just be a miracle cure that no one on Google had ever heard of.

And pigs might sprout wings and fly over Big Ben.  

 

 


	13. Tom, meet Rosy.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello, everyone! Thank you so much for your patience. Life has been kicking my ass lately. Here's a new chapter and our lovely couple is seeing their doctor for the first time. (If you have any triggers regarding doctor visits, this might be the chapter to skip.) Please be aware that Tedi's pregnancy is based on my own but it was 13 years ago and my memory may have faded. I tried to check on Google to make sure that what I was saying is correct but times do change. What the doctors said back then may not be true today. Also, I may simply remember it differently than it actually happened. I make no claims to have any medical training except kissing boo-boos and administering Spiderman bandaids. This story is all for fun, right? So knowing that...please enjoy!

The next morning Tedi looked extra miserable and it was - mostly - his fault.  Without thinking it through first, Tom had scheduled their first doctor’s appointment for early in the day.  Nine in the morning to be exact.  Normally, Tedi liked to lounge in bed for a few minutes while she drank a cup of tea and ate a few crackers.  The ritual helped settle her stomach before she even put her feet on the floor.  Thanks to him, she didn’t have the luxury of that today.  Consequently her breakfast had already made a reappearance and her tummy was decidedly upset about the turn of events.  

“Stop blaming yourself,” she scolded in a low voice as they entered the offices of the most prestigious OBGYN practice in London.  Tom had done his homework and this set of doctors were said to be the absolute best - education, cutting edge practices, and overall bedside manner.  He hadn’t just wanted a good doctor for Tedi, he’d wanted someone genuinely caring to bring their first child into the world.  Dr. Ella Sampson had filled all of his criteria, and then some.  “I’m fine.”

That was something that Tedi was saying a lot these days.  She was constantly assuring him that she was fine, okay, everything was normal.  He wanted to believe her but today he’d have a person with an actual medical degree make the final decree.  If anything happened to Tedi or the baby…  

He couldn’t even imagine it.  

“I should have made the appointment for the afternoon.”

“You have things to do later today.  This was the convenient time.”

For him, not for her.  He was still getting used to thinking about another person when he scheduled his day.

He marched up to the front desk and gave them Tedi’s name while she settled into a chair in the waiting room.  The nurse handed him a clipboard full of forms and a pen.  

“Please fill these out and bring them up when you’re done.”

_Note to self - next time have them email the forms ahead of time._

As terrible as Tedi felt, the last thing she probably wanted to do was stroll down her health memory lane.  He sat down next to her and held up the clipboard.

“Looks like we have a little homework first.  I’ll fill it out and you just answer the questions, okay?”

Her name, age, and address were easy.  She had no NHS number, not that it would have made any difference here.  This was a private clinic.  Tom was paying for this himself and he’d already had this argument with Tedi.  He was the reason she was in this condition so he was damn well going to pay the doctor fees.

Occupation?  Author.  Place of business?  Home.  Why did they need to know this?  

Health history.  Now this made sense.  

“Chicken pox?”

Tedi shook her head while checking her phone.  “Nope, but I’ve had the immunization.  I’ve also had all the others like mumps and measles.”

He checked off the correct boxes.  “Any surgeries?”

He’d never seen any scars on Tedi so he was pretty sure the answer was no.

“Sex reassignment.  Five years ago.”

Tom went to write it down but then realized what she’d said.  

“What?”

She was openly laughing at him, her formerly pale cheeks turned pink.  “Just seeing if you were paying attention.  I’ve only had one surgery.  Tonsils when I was five.”

_Cheeky little minx._

Even when Tedi felt like death warmed over she was fun to be around.

“Breathing problems?  Pneumonia?  Asthma?  COPD?”

“No, no, no, and no.”

“Allergies?”

“Penicillin, peanuts, mold, grass, and pollen.”

He wrote penicillin in extra large letters and the others in regular size.  The other questions went as smoothly, and he was relieved to find out for sure that Tedi had no chronic illnesses to deal with other than she couldn’t enjoy a nice peanut butter and jelly sandwich or a day in the park without sneezing.

When they were done he returned them to the woman behind the front desk who had been eyeing him the entire time.  He did get that quite a bit, people who thought they might recognize him but weren’t sure from where.  Just the other day someone had come up to him and told him he looked familiar.  He’d smiled and told them that he’d played Loki in the movies, but they’d shook their head and said, “No, you didn’t.  He’s taller and has darker hair.  He’s younger too.”  Nothing could convince them either.  They’d walked away in disgust.

Ouch.  Apparently he looked taller on a big screen.  And younger.

A nurse called Tedi’s name and they both stood, Tom running his sweaty palms down the denim of his jeans.  He was nervous.  This was a huge moment in his life and he could only imagine how Tedi felt.  They might even be able to hear their baby’s heartbeat today.  At least that was what some of his friends talked about when they went to the doctor.

They stopped in a small room and the nurse took Tedi’s vitals including her blood pressure, weight, and temperature.  Then she had to disappear into a restroom to fill a small cup with urine.  Good thing he made Tedi keep up with her fluids after she’d fainted at the premier.  After that they were led to the exam room.  

The nurse handed Tedi a blue gown.  “Please get undressed and put this on.  Opening in the front.  Dr. Sampson will be right in to see you.”

Tedi eyed the stirrups and wrinkled her nose.  “Shit.  I hate this part.  Maybe you should wait outside while I do this.  You can come in after.”

Tom wasn’t going anywhere.  “No, darling.  We do this together.”

“Fine, but don’t say I didn’t warn you.”  She pointed to the tray of instruments next to the cushioned table.  “See that thing right there?  They slide that inside of me and then jack me open.  Still sure you want to stay?”

After having fainted when learning of his impending fatherhood, Tom was loathe to admit that he wasn’t sure.  However, this was only a warm up for the big event.  He might as well get used to it.  

“I’m staying.  Do you need any help getting undressed?”

She gave him a withering look.  “That’s all we need is to be shagging when the doctor walks in.  I can handle this, handsome.”

“I wasn’t even thinking—“

Never mind.  She was jumpy and anxious too.  He could tell by the jerky movements as she stripped out of her clothes and donned the gown.  Geez, for what he was paying for this appointment they might have given her something more becoming.  The blue cotton hung on her like a sack, about a million sizes too large for her tiny frame.  She hopped up onto the table just as the door swung open and the doctor joined them.

“Hello, I’m Dr. Ella Sampson.”

They shook hands and Tom introduced himself and Tedi.  Dr. Sampson however had already turned to his pregnant fiancee, focusing all her attention there.

“So tell me how things are going so far?  Have you had any nausea or vomiting?  What about fatigue?”

“She’s had—“

“Tom,” Tedi loudly interrupted, giving him a look he’d never seen before.  “I’ve got this.  Yes, Doctor, I have nausea every day and I’m vomiting at least once a day.  I am tired but I’ve found that taking a walk or keeping busy helps with it.”

“Hmmm…are there any foods that help?”

“Carbs,” Tedi stated firmly.  “Especially chicken and dumplings.”

It was as if Tom was invisible.  He was standing right here next to them but they’re conversation didn’t include him at all.

_Because this isn’t about you, idiot.  This is about Tedi._

“At this point, eat whatever helps,” Dr. Sampson replied.  “But later on, we’ll need to talk about a more rounded diet for the pregnancy.  Also, you should be resting as much as you can now.  Listen to your body.  It will usually tell you what you need to know.  Now why don’t you lie down and we’ll do your exam.”

Tom sunk into the chair by the door while Tedi reclined back on the table, her feet in the stirrups.  The doctor snapped on a pair of gloves and made Tedi slide down further.  Tom winced in sympathy when the doctor smeared a huge glob of lube over the shiny metal of the speculum.  

“This is going to be cold.”

Yikes, Tedi hadn’t been kidding.  Dr. Sampson slid the instrument in and then did indeed jack it open, making it Tom’s turn to be nauseous.  Prostate exams were no day at the beach but this was awful.  To make matters worse, the doctor shoved what looked like a long Q-tip up there as well.  After removing the speculum, the doctor did what appeared to be a thorough digital examination.  

_I’m going to be extra nice to her kitty tonight.  It’s been through a lot today._

At this point, Tom was happy to hand over the reins of the appointment to the doctor and Tedi.  Clearly he didn’t know shit about women and babies and pregnancy.  They chatted about various things but all of Tom’s attention was trained on the poster on the wall depicting the development of the fetus from the beginning to birth.  His baby was going to grow like that.  In a few months, he was going to be a father.  For real.  This was no movie part, this was reality.  

“So Tom how are you doing?  What questions do you have for me?”

Dr. Sampson’s voice pulled him from his thoughts and he had to inwardly give himself a shake to get him back to the present.  He was being asked a question.  

“Actually,” he admitted, reaching into his jeans pocket.  “I have lots of questions.  Is that alright, Doctor?”

“It’s fine,” the doctor assured him.  “And call me Ella.  We’re all going to be good friends by the time the baby comes.  Now seriously how are you doing?  Surprised by anything?”

Well…yes.

“I’m doing okay, but I’m worried about how sick she is.”  Tom flicked a worried glance at his fiancee.  “I didn’t expect it to be this bad.  I thought she might be sick in the morning a little but she’s sick all the time.  When will it stop?”

“Hopefully soon,” Ella answered in a soothing tone.  She’d probably been asked this a million times.  “For most women it stops at the end of the first trimester which is only a few weeks away, luckily.”

“Most women?” he echoed.  “There’s a chance…”

“It’s a small chance that it could hang around.  The good news about pregnancy is that just about the time the mother thinks she can’t stand whatever is happening to her body that symptom goes away and another annoying one takes its place.”

“That’s the _good_ news?” Tedi asked, exasperation in her tone.  “That doesn’t sound like good news.  What’s the bad news?”

“Sometimes the symptom doesn’t leave until after the baby is born.”

Tom nodded, thinking he needed to read farther into that pregnancy book he’d purchased.  

“I have a book that details some of the complications.  I’ll read up on it.”

Ella’s eyes went wide and she shook her head.  “No!  Whatever you do, Tom, promise me you won’t read that chapter in the book.  It’s a very bad idea.  You’ll scare yourself silly for things that have a very low probability of even happening.  Only read it if I specifically tell you which parts, okay?  This is really important.”

He didn’t like the idea of knowledge being kept from him but she did have a point.  He was already nervous as hell about the baby and Tedi.  At this rate, he was going to have a heart attack and die young.

“I promise.”

“I promise too,” Tedi said, her gaze going back and forth between Tom and Ella.  “You’d tell us if we had anything to worry about right?”

“I would.  Now  what are the other questions you have?”

As if she had all day, Ella patiently answered each one.  Tom felt a little silly asking them but she had a way of making him feel like he wasn’t freaking out when clearly he was.  

“Now, how would you like to get a peek at your baby?  The ultrasound machine is free.”

Did he want to?  Absolutely.  This is what he’d been waiting for.

 

* * * 

 

Poor Tom.  He’d had a hell of a day.  He wasn’t used to gynecologist appointments and talking about sore breasts, puking, and softening cervixes.  He looked slightly shellshocked.  

He paled even more when the doctor held up the huge wand for the ultrasound and slipped a condom over it.  His Adam’s apple bobbed in his throat and he’d grabbed her hand, their fingers entwining.  

Tedi wasn’t feeling too skippy about that giant dildo-looking thing slipping inside of her but  if she got to see her baby it would be okay.  Ella squirted another glob of lube on the tip and placed it under the sheet covering Tedi’s thighs.

“A little more cold.  Take a deep breath and then exhale.”

She closed her eyes for a moment until it was seated inside of her, only opening them to train her gaze on the flickering screen.  It didn’t hurt at all, it was just mildly disturbing.  On television they only showed the ultrasounds with the device that ran over the tummy.  Tedi had read up on this and she would get that one later in the pregnancy so she’d been prepared but she was pretty sure Tom hadn’t read that part yet.  If he had, he hadn’t truly absorbed it.  

“There he is.  He’s got a strong heartbeat.”

“A boy?” Tom asked excitedly, practically coming out of his chair.  “It’s a boy?”

“Just a manner of speech, Tom.  It’s too early to tell yet.  I just don’t like referring to the baby as in it.  It could be either at this point.”

So now they all knew what Tom preferred.  He wanted a son.  Frankly Tedi kind of did too.  She would be happy no matter what they were given but the thought of having a miniature Tom was just too sweet.  A little boy with golden curls, a charming smile, and big blue eyes.  No matter how far Tom would travel or how long he’d be gone making a movie, she’d have a little piece of him close to her.  

“There’s the head, and the torso.  That light is the heart beating, nice and strong.  Next time you come in you’ll be able to see more.  Do you want me to print off a few pictures for you to show off?”

They absolutely did although they hadn’t told many people yet.  Tedi was coming to the end of her first trimester however so it would soon be time to spread the news.

“Hmmm…”  Ella peered more closely at the screen, making Tedi’s heart skip a beat.  Was there something wrong?  “Just a little item to be aware of.  The placenta is completely covering your cervix at the moment.  We call that placenta previa, and yes Tom, you can look that up in your book.  It’s nothing you need to worry about too much at this point.  It may move higher during the pregnancy or it may stay there.  We’ll keep a watch on it.  In the meantime, I want you to limit your physical activity, Tedi.  No running, jumping, or squatting.  Normally, I encourage women to exercise while pregnant but that’s not something you can do although walking is fine.  You may spot a little but anything more you need to give us a call.  Chances are, as the uterus grows this condition will resolve itself.”

Tedi was having a hard time drawing a deep breath and Tom had a death grip on her hand.

“Is it dangerous to the baby?”

Her question had come out strangled and squeaky.  She already loved this baby with all of her heart.  

“We don’t want you going into labor like this.  If it doesn’t fix itself, you’ll need to have a c-section.  This is quite common, Tedi, and I don’t want you to worry.  This is very manageable.  Limiting your physical activity and total pelvic rest are good ways to make sure that you don’t bleed or spot.”

Tom frowned anxiously.  “Total pelvic rest?  What does that mean?”

“No intercourse, no orgasm, and no pelvic exams until this either resolves itself or the end of the pregnancy.  Seriously, I don’t want you to worry.  A low percentage of women who have placenta previa this early in pregnancy don’t self-resolve.  We’ll keep a close eye on it through ultrasound every two weeks from now on.”

Tedi wanted to cry and laugh at the same time.  Total pelvic rest.  By the expression on Tom’s face he still didn’t get it.  

“So I want to make sure I have this right.  No going to the gym, no exertion, and no sexual activity until further notice.”

Ella nodded.  “Exactly.  We want to leave that cervix alone.  We’ll get you scheduled for another check in two weeks and then reassess.  Really this is nothing to worry about.  Very common.”

Ella printed off the pictures and left the room so Tedi could re-dress her bottom half.  Tom was still standing there, his brows pinched together as if he were contemplating an equation for cold fusion that he couldn’t quite comprehend.  

“I think I’m going to have to read that part of the book to really understand this,” he finally said as they exited the posh clinic and climbed into his Jag.  They’d planned to stop for a late breakfast if she felt up to it and she was beginning to feel hungry.  

But first…

“I think I can sum it up for you.  No fun for you and absolutely no fun for me at all.  At least you get to climax.”

This was not ideal at the beginning of a relationship but they needed to do what was best for the baby.  Right now Tom’s penis was out of bounds.  

“No fun?”

Poor bastard.  She was going to have to be blunt.  

“Tom,” she said, reaching across him to pat his right hand.  “Let me introduce you to your new and hopefully temporary girlfriend.  Rosy Palmer.”

His mouth fell open and he almost veered off the road.  “Oh God.”

If they made it through this without hating each other and breaking up, they might just be able to make this marriage thing work.  

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 


	14. A Chocolate Substitute

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello! Sorry it's been so long between updates but life has been crazy. This chapter is just a little bit fun and I hope it makes you smile. Thank you!

Tom had gone without sex many times in his life and for a myriad of reasons. Busy with work and in between relationships being the two major ones but nothing had prepared him for celibacy when the woman he loved and worshipped slept right next to him in bed.  

Tedi wriggled and sighed, murmured and groaned.  Sometimes she even kicked out at some unseen danger but she always, always, always reached out for him, cuddling her body close so he could feel the heat of her skin and enjoy the sweet fragrance of her hair.  It was maddening and frustrating and - much to his shame - it didn’t put him in the best of moods.  He’d been scowling and barking at people all week.  Some of them were strangers and some were friends.  All were nicer to him than he deserved.  If this went on much longer he was going to lose his reputation as one of the nicest men in show business.  

“Try to be nice to your mother.”

The warning in Tedi’s voice told him that he’d been a real pain in the ass the past week.  He hadn’t meant to be but apparently he’d become used to a certain…lifestyle.  How had Tedi put it?  

_You’ve become used to kitty on demand, Tom, you spoiled rotten sex symbol movie star._

He’d growled at her when she’d said it on Thursday but it was now Monday and he had to throw up his hands and surrender.  She was right, and he hated himself for it.  It affected Tedi even more than him after all.  He could go rub one out when things got too bad but she just had to stiffen her upper lip and ignore it.  She was the one that was sick every day.  She was the one that was curtailing her physical activity.  She was the one who couldn’t button her jeans as of Saturday.  If anything, his part was a minor inconvenience but he was acting like it was the end of the damn world.  

“I will be nice to my mum,” Tom said, taking a deep breath.  “Have I been that bad?”

He already knew the answer so when Tedi rolled her eyes and gave him _that look_ it wasn’t a surprise.  

“No, you’ve been a veritable ray of sunshine, darlin’.”

He was in trouble when Tedi’s Southern accent showed up to play.  Right now, she was doing an excellent impression of Scarlet O’Hara.  And she wasn’t trying.

Discretion being the better part of valor, he ignored the jibe and stomped to the front door to let his mum in.  He didn’t know if Tedi had warned Diana or not but she’d come bearing a homemade chocolate cake in her hands.  

He’d begun replacing sex with chocolate and so far he’d gained two pounds and was known by first name at the bakery around the corner.  Was this why men often put on weight during their wives’ pregnancies?  

He reached for the cake but Diana slapped his hands away.  “This is for Tedi.  She told me on the phone yesterday that she was having cravings.”

Snapping his teeth together, it was all he could do not to howl at the injustice.  He needed that chocolate cake.  Did everything have to be for the pregnant woman?  He lived here too.

“We’re all going to have the cake for dessert, Tom.  Why don’t you take it into the kitchen and set it on the counter.”

Tedi’s soothing tone did little to calm his ruffled feathers.  Six months and one week to go.  He wasn’t sure he was going to be able to make it.  

“Fine,” he said with all the control he could muster.  “Why don’t you both sit at the table and I’ll bring out lunch?”

Diana pulled him in for a hug before relinquishing the overly coveted baked good and then held her arms out to Tedi who was also the recipient of a warm hug.  That part made Tom feel better.  He wanted nothing more than his mother and his future wife to get along and adore each other.  Clearly they were on the right track.  It didn’t hurt that Tedi had invited Diana dress shopping today.  She was doing her best to make sure that his mum was included in all the wedding preparations.

Speaking of the wedding…it was only four weeks away.  They’d managed to book a lovely English country estate with a small chapel on the grounds.  It would be large enough for the ceremony and the home would be perfect for the reception afterwards.  He only hoped the British rain would stay away that day, if only for his fiance, who still cursed every time the wet gray stuff came down.  

_And I’m not nervous about getting married at all.  Not in the least._

Placing the cake on the counter, Tom turned to the oven where the lasagna Tedi had made was keeping warm.  He lifted out and set it on top of the stove but his attention was pulled back to the cake.  Surely just one taste of the frosting wouldn’t hurt anything?  No one would have to know.  They were all going to share it after all, and he’d eaten his last chocolate truffle this morning.  There was nothing more pathetic than an empty candy bag, and it had been sad to toss it in the rubbish bin. While his mum and Tedi shopped for a wedding dress, he could visit the shops and re-stock his stash.  

He lifted the glass lid of the cake stand and eyed the tiered chocolate confection, the icing in little swirls.  Spying the perfect spot near the bottom, he reached out his index finger and carefully ran it along the edge of the plate, picking up a generous dollop of frosting.

“Tom, can I help with— What are you doing?”

His mum.  Looking none too pleased and catching him red handed as if he was still a schoolboy living in their family home.  She was the only person who could make him feel like a callow youth when in fact he was a sophisticated and succssful grown man.  

“I was just—“

In his efforts to cover his icing thievery and not get a lecture from his mother, Tom tried to quickly re-cover the cake but he wasn’t watching what he was doing and somehow the edge of the cover became deeply embedded in the top of the pastry, ruining any decorative effect there may have been.  Panicked now, he had a frosting covered pointer finger and a cake cover pushed halfway down into the dessert.  To play it off, he tried to pull the cover out of the cake while hiding his right hand behind his back but that’s when the shit really hit the fan.  In his haste he’d pulled much too hard and the cake stand slid across the slippery marble countertop and off the edge.

“Shit—“

“Heavens—“

Both he and his mother reached out to catch it but their arms tangled up and the cake plate and cake smashed to the tile floor with a loud crash and a splat, chocolate flying upwards and everywhere.  

Wiping frosting out of his eye, Tom smacked his forehead only to remember that his hand had chocolate on it too and now it was in his hair.  But that was really the least of it. 

The blast zone was at least three feet in circumference.

Frosting and cake and glass clung to every surface including Diana.  He could only imagine what he looked like.  Countertops, stove, cabinets, the refrigerator door, even the cute little red checked dishtowels that Tedi had picked out a few weeks ago.  

All decorated in chocolate.  

Tedi ran in, her eyes wide with panic.  “What happened?  I heard something fall.  Is everything— Oh my God!  Are you okay?  What happened?”

_I dropped the cake because I was randy and I’m not getting any._

“The cake fell,” Tom finally said.  Diana had stayed blessedly quiet but her amused expression meant that he would definitely hear about this at some point.  “Just relax, love, and I’ll get this cleaned up in a jiffy.  Then we’ll eat.”

Wrinkling her nose in that adorable way, Tedi shook her head and pointed to the lasagna.  “We might want to eat out.”

Indeed their lunch was covered in frosting and cake.  If it had been just Tom he would have scraped off the worst and eaten in anyway but he wasn’t going to feed his mother and his fiancee chocolate and basil lasagna and maybe a side of glass shards.  Looking down at himself, he was going to need a shower and a change of clothes before they could go anywhere.  His mum too.

“I’ll call for takeout,” he said.  “Then I’ll get this cleaned up.  Mum why don’t you use the hall bathroom while I do that.”

Tedi’s gaze darted between Tom and Diana, obviously picking up on the vibe that there was more here than meets the eye.  “I’ll call for lunch and then we can throw those dirty clothes in the laundry.  Diana, I think I have a robe that will fit you while they get clean.”

Disappearing around the corner, Tom gave him mother a sheepish grin.  “Go ahead.  Say it.”

“Say what?”

“That I shouldn’t have been sticking my finger in the cake.”

A gray eyebrow lifted in question.  “Do I even need to say that?  Listen to me, Tom, because I’m worried about you.  You’ve got six months left of this and you need to pace yourself.  You need to be strong for Tedi.  Don’t crack up on us now.”

His mum thought he’d dropped the cake because he was nervous about becoming a father.  

She didn’t have a clue as to the real reason.  Thank bloody goodness.  

“You’re right.  I’ve been letting all of this get to me.”

His mother began to help him clean up the floor, tossing the remnants of the cake into the trash.  “You need to find a way to relax, son.  Do something that you enjoy and always makes you feel better.”

That was the one thing he wasn’t allowed to do.  This next week was going to crawl.  He could only hope the doctor had better news.  Just five and a half days to go. 


	15. The day before the rest of his life

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry it's been so long between updates! Hope you enjoy this one. We're getting near the end, I think. Maybe 3 or 4 more chapters? Maybe a few more, but we're getting close. Thank you all for reading!

It was the day before the rest of his life.

Four weeks later and now it was the day before Tom’s wedding to Tedi.  The venue had been booked, the food ordered, the flowers chosen.  Tedi had a dress which was kept under lock and key from him so he wouldn’t see it before the big day.  It was almost time.  

But first they had to get through Tedi’s doctor appointment this morning.  She was due for another scan to check the placement of the placenta.  While Dr. Ella had been happy with Tedi’s progress at the two week mark, it wasn’t enough for her to allow regular activity.  That meant that Tom had been slowly going crazy this last month.  With all the chocolate he’d ingested, he ought to have gained ten pounds.  Luckily he’d amped up his workout schedule when he realized his pants were getting a little too tight.  Otherwise he might not be able to fit into his tuxedo tomorrow.  

He and Becky were sitting in the kitchen of his house and sipping coffee while Tedi got ready for the doctor.  

“So I hear you’re in sex time out, Tom.  That must suck.”

Becky Atwater.  Tedi’s best friend from America.  She was a total opposite.  Blonde where Tedi was brunette.  Tall while Tedi was petite.  But the two clearly were cut from the same cloth.  They had the same keen intelligence and biting sense of humor.  Last night she’d had them all in stitches telling stories about the two of them in school.  Tedi had been quite the troublemaker in her youth rebelling against her parents and her proper Southern lady upbringing.  

Becky also had the same lilting accent as Tedi although hers was beginning to morph into something different - a lovely melange of London and the South.  Tom could listen to Tedi speak all day long and never get tired of it.  

Ben apparently felt the same way about Becky because he’d been enraptured from the first moment he’d seen and heard her.  They’d all had dinner together last night and Ben was clearly smitten.  Becky on the other hand simply appeared mildly amused at the famous actor.  She didn’t seem to take him too seriously.  This was going to be interesting to watch.

So it didn’t occur to Tom to softball his answer to Becky’s blunt question.  She was becoming his friend too.  

“It does suck, but we’ll get through it.”

“Hey, at least you can spank the money.  Tedi’s in a sexual desert, and with you as a fiance that probably blows.”

No one was getting blown either.  Tom didn’t even want to ask Tedi for a blow job.  It didn’t feel…right.  Why should he get pleasure from her when he couldn’t return the favor?

“Hopefully the doctor will have good news today.”

“That would make for a long, boring honeymoon if she doesn’t.  You’d actually have to see the sights.”

What was Becky getting at?  In the short time he’d known her he’d quickly realized that she didn’t bring up subjects at random.  She was going somewhere with this.

“Are you worried that I’m being an arsehole about this?”

Becky smiled and placed her coffee cup on the table.  “Tedi was right.  You’re as smart as you are pretty.  Yes, I am concerned but let me tell you why.  Tedi was in tears yesterday.  She was worried that this might not clear up quickly or at all.  You might both be on the nooky bench for the duration, Tom.  She doesn’t want to disappoint you because she loves you so much.  And frankly when Tedi Oliver cries that gets my attention because she’s not a crier, my new friend.  That’s something she doesn’t do much.  I guess what I’m asking here is if the doctor has crappy news today, what’s your plan to handle this?  Because she’s going to need to know that you don’t care even if you really, really do.”

Tom sighed and rubbed at the back of his neck.  “I’ve been telling her it doesn’t matter.  The hormones are making her worry more than usual.”

Rolling her eyes, Becky sat up in her chair.  “Um, can we not blame hormones here?  They’re only part of the equation.  Look at it from her point of view.  She’s marrying a handsome and sexy movie star.  That’s great, right?  Well, sort of.  She can’t have sex with him no matter how much she wants to and she’s about to blow up like a float in the Macy’s Thanksgiving parade.  He, on the other hand, can get a woman really easily.  They throw themselves at him.  Add in the fact that she’s worried about the baby on top of that and you have a whole lotta stress.  I kind of think you’re looking at this no sex thing from your angle, not hers.  That all you’ve been thinking about is when are you going to get some.  That’s actually not the biggest deal here.  The biggest deal is that if that placenta doesn’t move, she’s going to have to have a c-section, Tom.  Do you realize that?”

He had known that but he just hadn’t thought that it wouldn’t move. He was an optimist at heart.

“The doctor says it’s moving.”

“What if it doesn’t move enough?” Becky countered.  “Or it moves back?  Are you prepared to go another seven months because that’s what it could be.  She’s not going to be ready for fun times the minute she gives birth.”

“If that’s what I need to do then that’s what we’ll do,” Tom replied as sincerely as he could.  “Tedi is the only woman I want.  The only woman I’ll ever want.  If we couldn’t make love for the rest of your lives I would still want to marry her.”

Tom was completely serious.  It wouldn’t be ideal but he couldn’t imagine himself with anyone else.  

Becky studied him for a long moment.  

“Okay, you’ve convinced me.  Now you have to convince her.  She’s terrified that she’s letting you down.”  Becky leaned closer and tapped the table with her index finger.  “Tomorrow should be the happiest day of her life, and I’ll do anything in my power to make sure it is.”

“I will do whatever it takes.”

The idea of Tedi crying over this made Tom want to fix everything and make it all perfect for her.  A lofty goal indeed but one he couldn’t deny.  He wanted to give Tedi the world, the stars, and everything in between.  

“Now I have a question for you.”

Laughing, Becky stood to refill her coffee cup.  “Lay it on me.  After the grilling I just gave you, I guess I owe you one.”

“I appreciate that.  Now here’s my biggest concern.  What are we going to do about Tedi’s parents?  They’ll be here in a few hours.”

Immediately, Becky’s smile fell and she placed her fingers at her temple as if the beginnings of a headache was making itself known.  

“Tom, I have a plan.”

 

*****

 

Tom was acting strangely and Tedi didn’t know why.  There could be various reasons of course.  There was plenty going on with the wedding the next day,  her parents showing up, and then this doctor’s appointment.  Tedi wasn’t exactly calm but she’d given herself a little pep talk this morning while in the shower.  

One thing at a time.  First, the appointment.  Then she’d deal with her parents.  As for the wedding tomorrow, she had an amazing wedding planner and it would all be fine.  Even if the flowers and cake didn’t show, she’d still be married to Tom.  

Okay, the cake not showing would be sad because she loved cake, but all she really needed was her future husband.  They wouldn’t be any more married if the day went perfect than if it all went, as Tom liked to phrase it, tits up.  The Brits certainly knew how to sum up a situation.

It was a good attitude to have because her family was going to fuck up tomorrow.  Somehow.  Some way.  She didn’t know how yet but it was as sure as the sun rising in the east.  They were going to do it.  Not necessarily on purpose.  They would mean well.  But they were going to do something tomorrow that would make Tedi wonder for the millionth time if she was adopted.  

Tom, on the other hand, was acting as if he didn’t have a care in the world.  Life was a beach and he was sipping an umbrella drink.  

“You seem…happy.”

Tedi was lying on the table with her feet in stirrups and her bottom half naked except for a sheet.  Tom was sitting next to her, holding her hand and smiling like a loon.  Maybe he’d taken to drinking instead of hoarding chocolate.  

She was well aware of Tom’s new sweet habit.  She’d found out by accident though.  She’d stopped in at the bakery on the corner to buy those cinnamon rolls she loved so much but rarely allowed herself to have and the older woman behind the counter had asked if she also wanted “Tom’s favorites.”  A bit of creative questioning and Tedi had found out that Tom was going there practically every other day, buying sweets.  He wasn’t putting them on display so then she’d had to search for his hiding spots which she’d found all over the house.  They hadn’t been hard to find.  

If this was what he needed to get through his sexual drought then she’d let him have it.  She only hoped it didn’t last too long because he could end up with some serious love handles at this rate.  And that might affect his career.  It sure wouldn’t affect her love though.  

“I am happy.  We get to see our little one again.”

“Yes, but we might not get the news we hope for.”

Tom looked down at her and his fingers brushed a few strands of hair from her forehead.  His gaze was loving and tender and her own heart ached in return.  She loved him so much.

“The only news I care about is that our baby is healthy and strong.  Anything else is just a bonus.”

That sounded great but…

“The honeymoon—“

“Will be wonderful,” Tom cut in with a shake of his head.  “No matter what.  Just being with you makes me happy.  Do you seriously think I care one way or the other, darling?”

“Yes,” she replied bluntly.  “Tom, I know about your chocolate stash.”

His face turned red but he didn’t back down.  “I may not be handling it well but that doesn’t mean that this is important.  It’s not.  It’s the icing on the cake, love.  It’s not what matters.  You and the baby matter.  Sex is…wonderful but after we’re together for about fifty or sixty years we’ll laugh about this.  When I think of it that way, this seems like such a small, insignificant inconvenience.”

He had a point.  In the long run, it didn’t really matter.  

“I guess it is sort of a short term problem.”

He raised that famous eyebrow.  “Are you planning to stay celibate forever?”

_Oh hell no._

“Not on your life.  You’re far too good.”

“Then it’s all good.”

Tedi sighed and leaned over to kiss him.  “Sometimes you say just the right things, handsome.”

“I love you, Theodosia. You’re giving me the greatest gift, a child.  I’m not going to quibble about the details.  You’re the woman of my dreams.”

Tears dripped down her cheeks.  She lightly smacked his arm.

“You can’t say shit like that.  I swear I’m crying at the drop of a hat these days and I hate crying.  Just ask Becky.  She’ll tell you.”

A funny look crossed his face but then he just smiled.  “I don’t need Becky to tell me about the woman I love.  I’ve got this under control.  You’re stuck with me, woman, so I hope that’s okay with you.  I’m here and I’m not going anywhere.”

That sounded perfect to Tedi.

 

*****

 

Tom had meant what he’d said to Tedi.  After his talk with Becky, he’d realized that this small amount of time was just a blip compared to their whole life together.  It was just a tiny hurdle.  Tedi and the baby were all that mattered.  And the future babies they might have too.

The doctor was smiling as she pointed to a gray blob on the screen.  “It’s looking good.  The baby is growing well and the heartbeat is strong.  The placenta has also moved.”

_Enough?  It had moved last time too._

“It’s moved?” Tedi piped up.  She’d been rather quiet since the doctor had joined them.  

Dr. Ella was beaming.  “I think we can lift all of the restrictions.  I do want you to continue listening to you body though, Tedi.  If you’re tired, rest.  You still need to make sure that you get plenty of sleep and eat a balanced diet.  How’s the nausea?”

Both he and Tedi were delighted to report that it was completely gone.  One day last week Tedi had woken up and been shocked to find that she felt…good.  It was almost as if it had never been there at all.  

“So…all of the restrictions?” Tedi asked, her tone tentative.  “Every single one?”

“Every single one.”  Dr. Ella stood and stripped off her gloves.  “And just in time too.  Aren’t you getting married tomorrow?”

“We are,” Tom confirmed.  “But you forgot all about that, I suppose?”

“It never crossed my mind.”  Dr. Ella picked up their file and made a few notes.  “Now I also know the sex of the baby.  Do you want to know?”

Shock ran through Tom and he reflexively squeezed Tedi’s hand.  It hadn’t realized that much time had passed but it had.  Did they want to know?  Did Tedi?  Did he?  He liked surprises but Tedi hated them.  They could prepare for the baby more perhaps if they knew.  Names and such.  But wasn’t the traditional way better?

“I’d like to know,” Tedi said, sitting up.  “But I’m not sure about Tom.”

Now he was on the hot seat.  Was she leaving it up to him?

Dr, Ella finished writing something and then placed it in a white envelope, sealing it up.

“If you want to know, it’s in this envelope.  If you don’t want to know, don’t look.  If one of you wants to know, then you can look and put it back.  It’s all up to you.  Any more questions?”

For once Tom didn’t have a list.  The doctor exited and he helped Tedi dress.  They walked out and Tedi had the envelope in her hand.  

It had the answer to their question.  

He slid behind the wheel of his car and looked at Tedi who was holding it up.  

“What do you think, handsome?  Do you want to know?”

“Yes,” he answered slowly.  “But should we?  Of course we want to know.  But maybe we should be surprised?”

Apparently he’d said something hilarious because Tedi was laughing, tears streaming down her cheeks.  

“Because none of this was a surprise.  Meeting, hating each other and then falling in love.  Getting knocked up the first time we had sex.  Yep, this was all pretty boring.  A small misunderstanding and here we are.  Parents.  No surprises there.”

Tedi made an excellent point.  

“And pregnancy?” she went on.  “That hasn’t had any surprises.  I bet childbirth will be pretty boring too.  And parenting is going to be a snap.  There won’t be any surprises there either.”

She’d convinced him. 

Besides, he really wanted to know.  Deep down.

Reaching out, he took the envelope from her hand and held it between them.

“What do you want?  A boy or a girl?  And don’t say that you just want him or her to be healthy.  That’s a given.  Seriously what do you want?”

Her brow scrunched up and her nose wrinkled so delightfully when she was deep in thought.  

“I think…I’d want a boy who looks just like you.  Then when you go away to work I’ll have a little piece of you with me always.  But a girl would be so wonderful too.  She might have your blonde curls and blue eyes.  Can you just imagine it?  She’d be adorable.  They both would.  Shit, maybe we should have had twins.”

His heart almost beat out of his chest.  He didn’t deserve this woman.

“First of all, you’re going with me when I travel.  Second…”  he sighed.  “I’m not sure either.  Like you, they both sound wonderful.  A little girl that looks like you and loves books.  Or a little boy that might maybe want to take after his daddy some day.  I think we’d be lucky no matter what we got.”

Tedi nodded toward the envelope he was still holding.

“Then maybe we should just open it?  We can start decorating the nursery and thinking of names.  We can start…getting to know him or her.  I can’t wait to meet our baby.”

With shaking fingers he ripped open the flimsy envelope although it suddenly felt like it was made out of solid steel.  It took two tries to take the paper out but he finally got it.  He leaned toward Tedi and showed her what the doctor had written.  Tears welled up in his own eyes and his ribs were suddenly far too small for his heart, constricting his breathing.  

“Oh,” Tedi sighed, a smile blooming on her beautiful face.  “That’s so cool.”

Tom didn’t have the words to convey his emotions.  He was truly overwhelmed and he would have been no matter what had been written on this tiny slip of paper.  

It was a boy.  He had a son.


End file.
